Fire and Gold
by Samantha-Girl Scout
Summary: Chloe couldn't tell you what first sparked her interest in the idea of superheros. But, now that Ladybug and Chat Noir are saving Paris on a regular basis, she'll take every opportunity that she can get to get close to them. She secretly hopes to be a superhero herself one day, but she'll settle for helping Paris celebrate their one year anniversary. Chloe-centric.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

 _it's time to light the flame, right before it rains_

* * *

Chloe wouldn't admit it to anyone, but she was glad when the plane's wheels touched down on the black Parisian tarmac.

For the past month and a half she, her father, and Sabrina had been gone for the cruise of a lifetime. For the first time in what felt like forever, Chloe had allowed herself to just _be_. That wasn't to say that she had forsaken her role as the "Princess of Paris," that would have been beyond impossible. But those days were gradually outnumbered by other days. Days filled with sunbathing, sightseeing, and shopping.

She couldn't remember the last time she'd had so many days filled with so much fun.

As those days wore on, she couldn't deny that she had begun to feel a pang of homesickness in her heart. Despite all of the fun events that her father had planned during their trip, she couldn't help but long to see the city that she had grown up in. During the rare combination of down time between events and stable internet connections, she found herself religiously checking the local Paris news. More specifically she checked to see how her favorite spotted superheroine was fairing.

Chloe had done her best to resist checking the Ladyblog when they had arrived in Barcelona. As their first destination it seemed important to prove to herself that she didn't need to worry. But, as the ship docked in their second destination, Seville, she gave up and took the first chance she had to check the news.

It gave her some comfort to know that nothing terrible had happened while traveling. She couldn't explain the small knot of anxiety that had formed in the meantime. She didn't believe that ladybug could ever fall. But, the thought of the heroine fighting without her biggest fan cheering her on made Chloe's stomach twist.

As she checked at each consecutive port, Chloe just couldn't help but be a bit concerned by the increasing amount of close calls that she witnessed via a very annoying wannabe reporter. She had not checked in nearly a month. So, as she took time to catch up on the most recent news, she had been secretly concerned to find out that Alya had witnessed an increase in attacks during the summer break.

A particularly nasty battle flitted through her head as the plane began shuddering in its deceleration. She and Sabrina had been eating at a small café in Naples when the Ladyblog went live. Unknown to many of her classmates beyond Sabrina, she kept tabs through the blog's notification system. Once the streaming stabilized, the two friends watched in horror as a de-yo-yoed Ladybug dangled precariously from the Eiffel Tower.

From Alya's commentary they learned that Chat had yet to show up and Ladybug was almost completely overpowered on her own. The construction-based akuma leered from where he stood over her for a moment before he advanced to the ledge that Ladybug was desperately clinging to. Chloe's pulse raced as the he brought his jackhammer down onto the beam. She swore that her heart stopped altogether when the spotted heroine lost her grip and plunged towards the ground.

It appeared as though this would be the end.

At the last second, the mangy cat swooped in and caught his partner allowing relief to wash over everyone watching. If he hadn't appeared in time, Chloe was sure that she would have never forgiven him for the rest of his very short days.

The plane's shaking calmed as it began to gradually slow down. Chloe continued to stare out the window for a few moments, but a small groan from Sabrina caused her to turn her dispassionate gaze to the girl opposite her.

"Oh no!" Sabrina fretted as she looked out her window at the gathering storm clouds. "It looks like it's going to rain!"

Chloe glanced outside as well. The clouds hadn't seemed all that imposing from above, but, as she took in the darkening sky, she couldn't disagree with her friend's observation. "I thought you said that it was supposed to be sunny when we got back." The redhead paled and hastily pulled out her cell phone to check the weather.

"I swear that the forecast said that it was supposed to be sunny today! I don't know why it would have suddenly changed like this." Chloe sniffed as the plane came to a complete stop and the usual announcements began to play over the speakers.

"Well, it looks like whatever your phone said was wrong. Please tell me that you at least packed an umbrella in your carry-on." Sabrina worried her lip and stood to retrieve her and Chloe's bags from the overhead compartments. She moved stiffly and made a show of looking for a non-existent umbrella. It was obvious to the heiress that her friend had not actually packed one.

With a sigh, Chloe unbuckled her seatbelt and stood. "Don't bother. I'll just buy one from one of the shops inside." Sabrina sighed in relief as she zipped her duffel bag closed again before placing it on top of Chloe's rolling luggage. Making space for the other girl to lead them out of the plane, she shuffled backwards and blocked the aisle. Chloe didn't bat an eye at the invitation to lead. Instead, she walked at a clipped pace towards the front of the plane.

"Thank you for flying—"

Chloe ignored the stewardess' greeting. She could hear the other passengers let out annoyed noises as the pair pushed their way through to the exit, but she paid them no mind as well. Sabrina followed closely behind while attempting not to step on the back of Chloe's shoes as they walked through the jetway to the receiving gate.

"Make sure to keep up, Sabrina," Chloe said over her shoulder as they began to make their way through the crowd of people loitering around waiting for their own planes. "Daddy said that he'd send the driver to pick us up. The faster we get out of here the faster that I get a bath. I'm exhausted."

"A bath does sound nice." Sabrina fell in directly behind Chloe as they moved quickly through the crowded area "Do you think that our luggage will be ready by the time that we get down there?"

"It'd better be. If it's not, then I'll need to talk to Daddy about this airport." Purposefully oblivious to the world around her, Chloe strode through a large group studying a map. Effectively disrupting their discussion, one of the women gave her a dirty look. Not one to be bothered by such things, she didn't even spare the annoyed traveler even one glance.

"Sorry!" Sabrina called to the group in passing as she rushed to keep up with her companion. "If we stop at the shop to get the umbrella then I'm sure that it'll be ready by the time we get down there." Chloe spared Sabrina an acknowledging glance, shrugged, and then changed her course to one of the many traveler shops littered between the gates and baggage claim. She came to an abrupt stop in front of the storefront —a stop that almost caused Sabrina to crash into her— where a small display of essential weather gear stood. She glanced at her options and pouted as she noticed that there were few at her disposal. She picked up a boring black one that was far too compact for her tastes. She was about to resign herself to the mediocre device when Sabrina let out an excited squeal from somewhere farther in the shop.

"Look Chloe! They have Ladybug and Chat Noir umbrellas!" Said girl immediately dropped the umbrella in her hands to turn and dash to a cardboard display of Paris' favorite duo. Not only did the display have matching spotted and paw-printed umbrellas, there were also shirts, blankets, snow globes, spoons, decks of cards, and any other such souvenir that one could imagine. Chloe let out an excited squeal of delight as she clasped her hands to her cheek.

"We absolutely _have_ to get matching umbrellas, Sabrina!" Without any hesitation she plucked up the complementary set and clutched them to her chest. "I'd heard that they were coming out with new merchandise sometime this year, but I didn't realize that they were going to come out while we were away!"

"Oh, Chloe, this is so exciting! Can you imagine what's all out there now?"

"Sabrina," Chloe said seriously as she turned to grasp the other girl's shoulders around the umbrellas in her hands and shook her a few times. "We absolutely _have_ to find out what's come out before school starts. I can't be caught not having the latest Ladybug merchandise!"

Sabrina hesitated. "I'll… I'll have to talk to my Mom and Dad. They were talking about doing some last minute bonding before we go back in two weeks."

Chloe felt herself deflate at the news before she could stop herself. She'd assumed that, upon their return, the two of them would continue to spend every waking moment together. So, when Sabrina didn't agree right away…

She felt doubt rush in where hope had been growing throughout the summer. She knew that the two of them had been almost inseparable throughout the cruise. From sunbathing, to fancy galas, to sightseeing, they had done it all together. They had even shared Chloe's rather spacious suite on the ship. From all of the evidence presented to her there was only one conclusion that she could make:

Sabrina was sick of spending time with her.

With a small "humph," Chloe immediately removed her hands away from Sabrina's shoulders. They then clenched painfully around the umbrellas. As she made her way to the counter she threw a stinging comment over her shoulder. "Do what you want. I'll be going shopping regardless."

"Chloe…" She didn't even spare Sabrina a glance as she placed her items on the counter and fished her wallet out of her purse. She swiped her credit card without a second thought, picked up the items, and then left the attendant to deal with her unwanted receipt. Almost as an afterthought, she shoved the Chat themed umbrella into Sabrina's hand before silently walking in the direction of the baggage claim.

She didn't say another word until she bid Sabrina adieu.

* * *

Her room was cold when she finally arrived home.

When the limo had stopped outside of the Grand Paris Hotel, a small part of her had hoped that her father would be there waiting for her. But, as per usual, he left a servant to express his apologies and to let her know that he would be joining her for dinner. Originally her father had planned to fly home with the girls, but an urgent summons brought him back to his city.

Chloe wasn't sure why he had to leave. All she knew was that it was nearly impossible to enjoy the remainder of the trip with him gone. Her father had attempted to fill the hole with her butler and an array of bodyguards, but there was no way that a few servants could fill it sufficiently.

When they had docked in Rome, their final stop before heading for their home country, it felt as though the city was lifeless. The vibrant greens and blues were muted. All of the prearranged shows boring. And, she found no joy in any of the shops that she had excitedly budgeted for before they had disembarked on their trip.

With a heavy sigh Chloe threw herself onto her bed.

A moment later her door opened and a familiar voice called to her. "Would you like for me to draw you a bath, Miss Chloe?"

She turned her head in order to respond. "How much time before Daddy is going to meet me?"

"In about four hours," her butler, Jacques Larousse, said from where he stood.

"Then yes. Make sure to put in the peach bath bomb in when you're done."

"As you wish." A moment later the doors to her room closed and Chloe was left alone again. She lied on her bed for a few more moments. She allowed herself to wallow in her loneliness before she rolled over and made her way to her closet. With a flick of her wrist, she turned on the light and walked in.

Aside from a few additions that she had sent back while on her trip, it was just as she had left it. She fingered the fabric of a yellow sundress by the door as she surveyed her options. Most of the time she would wear something simple to eat with her father, but after almost a week of being away from him, it felt as though she should dress up a little. Her eyes paused over a flowing black and pink floral printed dress that she had bought in Madrid. Immediately she pulled it from the hangar before rummaging in one of the many boxes on the floor for a pair of black strappy sandals.

Perhaps wearing something that reminded her of an earlier part of the trip she would be able to put on a happier face for her father.

* * *

"Daddy!" Chloe called from the entrance of their private dining room. The room itself was rather spacious, but not outlandishly so. The space was meant to be for intimate dinners amongst close friends and family members only. It was decorated as immaculately as the main dining room, but the focal point of the room, the dinner table, was much smaller than its ornate sister a few rooms away.

And there, at the head of the six-person table, sat her father. He was still dressed for the day. The only thing missing from his usual get-up being his mayoral sash that hung on the back of his chair, limp from a full day of use.

"Sweetheart," her father said warmly as he looked up from the papers that he had been reviewing. Chloe rushed across the room and threw herself into her father's arms. Caught by surprise, André nearly allowed the two of them to fall into a heap onto the floor, but he was able to right them before disaster could strike. Once they were stable he readily returned her tight embrace.

"Oh, Daddy, I missed you so much!"

"I missed you too, Princess." As she pulled away he took in her outfit and smiled at her fondly. "That is such a beautiful dress, where did you get it?"

"Thank you Daddy!" She gave a little twirl before taking the seat to his right. "I bought it from La Hermosa Abeja. We went there during our first full day in Madrid. You went with us, remember?"

"Oh, right," Chloe watched as he attempted to remember. She could see it in the way he took a gulp of air and unconsciously wiped his head with his kerchief that he didn't remember. "I remember now. You and Sabrina were so excited to go shopping."

Chloe thought of calling him out on his lie, but considering that she had allowed worse sins to be forgiven, she spared both of them the embarrassment of his half made-up recounting of a trip to a luxury shop he didn't remember. More than likely he would pull from a previous affair before floundering needlessly.

Chloe wished that he'd simply admit that he couldn't forget. It did neither of them much good when he tried to make up things. She knew that he only wanted to connect with her, but his attempts weren't very effective when she could see right through them.

"So, Daddy," She said as she reached forward to drink from a waiting water glass, "How has Paris been?"

She watched as some of the strain left his person as he replaced his handkerchief. With a very obvious sigh of relief, he began to put away his papers in preparation of their meal. "Right as rain it would seem. It appears as though Hawk Moth is taking a short break from terrorizing the city. There hasn't been an attack for about a week now."

"Did Ladybug defeat Hawk Moth?"

Her father's forehead creased as he thoughtfully glanced at the remaining file sitting beside his salad fork. "Not as far as I know. I believe that she would make an official statement if she and Chat Noir had defeated him." Chloe let out a puff of air as a side door opened to reveal three staff: two carrying covered trays of food and one holding the door. Within moments, each Bourgeois had a plate of that night's special, a saffron risotto dish with asparagus. Both took a moment to appreciate the sight of the dish before they simultaneously took their first bite.

"Marlena has outdone herself again!" The mayor declared to the staff that waited anxiously. "Please send my compliments to her."

"Yes, sir" a brown-haired servant, the one who had placed the dishes before them, said as he paused between the two of them. "Is there anything else that I can do for you?" Chloe made a dismissive motion with her hand before returning to her meal. André smiled at the server and shook his head courteously.  
"I believe that we're good for now. If you wouldn't mind preparing a dessert for us, though, I imagine that we would like a treat once we're finished."

"Of course, sir. Do you have any preferences?"

"Chocolate mousse for me. Chloe, dear, is there something that you would like for dessert?" The girl paused for a moment considering her options. As of late she had begun to try every dessert possible to her. And, while she enjoyed new and exotic desserts, she felt an ache for something comforting instead.

"I'll have pineapple sorbet."

The servant bowed slightly. "If you'll excuse me, I will return with your orders once you have finished." And, with that, the trio of servants departed in search of their dessert orders. With the click of the door father and daughter were left alone in the room.

"You still like pineapple sorbet I see," André said with a smile that creased the beginnings of crow's feet around his eyes. "I remember when that was all you would order for dessert. Your mother and I would try so hard to get you to try new things, but you always insisted on having that instead."

Chloe pinked at the multitude of memories that accompanied the mention of her favorite cold treat. Ever since the first time that she had tried it on her first cruise, it was her go-to dessert when she wanted to treat herself or have something comforting. Each fruity bite reminded her of two weeks spent with her family and a new friend. Though the flavor could be a bit too sour for her at times, she couldn't abandon such an important part of her.

"Well," she said in embarrassment as she stabbed a spear of asparagus, "I couldn't have it on the cruise because no one knew how to make it right."

She pouted her lips as she purposefully avoided her father's amused gaze.

"It would appear that I was right. Marlena is the only cook in the whole world who could match Philippe." He allowed her some time to reign in her embarrassment before he spoke again."Tell me, how was Rome?"

"It was alright, I _suppose_." Chloe pushed her food around her plate. "We went to those shows that you reserved for us and did more shopping and sight-seeing. You know, the usual things that people do when they're visiting a new city."

"And did the two of you have fun?"

"A little. Though we would have had more fun if you wouldn't have left early." Chloe glanced at her father out of the corner of her eye. She felt a small amount of satisfaction settle in her chest at the look of remorse that crossed his face. Moments later he was looking at her in search of forgiveness.

"Sweetheart, please understand that there was an emergency that I had to attend to. If I could have stayed a moment longer I would have, but there was no way for me to stay and do what I needed to do."

"Whatever," she said dismissively as she set her fork down on her half eaten plate with a note of finality. Chloe then crossed her arms, let out an annoyed sigh, and turned away from her father. It was always the same excuse. He had some dire 'Emergency' that he had to attend to. She could probably count on one hand the times that she and her father had gone on a trip that had been uninterrupted.

"Chloe, darling," André said as he attempted to appease his only daughter to grant him forgiveness. "You know that I hate it when things like this happen. Please forgive me."

Though her father continued to plead with her, Chloe continued to refuse to look at him directly. There was a pattern to this. About three minutes of André pleading with her until he finally resorted to giving her something as compensation for her hurt feelings. She extended her right hand and inspected her nails as she waited for her father to be done groveling. To be honest, she could do without his apologies and skip straight to the part where he would ask what she wanted. It wasted a lot of time that could be spent on other topics. But, if she wanted to get what she really wanted she had to wait it out, otherwise she would have to settle.

Chloe hated settling.

"Princess, please tell Daddy what can he can do. He'll do anything for you to forgive him!"

And there it was.

"Well, there is one thing…" She glanced to the side to see her father looking at her with a pitiful look on his face.

"I'll do anything!"

"I want to be in Adrien and Sabrina's class again this year and I want that Dupain-Cheng girl in another section."

Her father blanched.

"Chloe," he began carefully, "The students in every class are determined by what their goals after school are. If Miss Dupain-Cheng is planning on attending University like you are, then my hands are tied."

As her father continued to speak, Chloe allowed her anger to build up inside of her. He continued to attempt to reason with her. To explain that, while he had a lot of power in Paris, beyond moving Chloe to another school, he could not influence the attendants of her class. As he continued to drone on and on about the implications of him making such a request, the heiress felt her anger shift to indignation and become so hot that she felt as though she were actually burning until, finally, she stood abruptly.

"Sweetheart?"

"I'm going to my room!" She said loudly as she stormed away.

"Chloe, wait!"

"Have Jacques send up my sorbet." And, with that said over her shoulder, Chloe burst through the doors and made her way to her room.

There were a few servants in the hallway chatting. As soon as the doors opened they stood to attention, but she paid them no mind and pushed past them. Eventually she only happened upon one or two servants until the only company that she had was the sound of her heels clicking upon the linoleum floor.

* * *

Chloe hated not getting her way.

It was, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the absolute worst feelings in the world. Ever since she was young her parents had catered to her every whim. Whether it was a doll or a dress that she saw in a shop window, if she wanted it, then she would eventually have it.

But, as it happened, it was not the worst feeling.

That was reserved for the feeling of disappointment.

Whether it was disappointment with a class, Sabrina, the school, the city, Ladybug, or her father, she couldn't stand the feeling of being let down. It didn't matter how many times it happened, that sinking feeling that made her stomach feel as though it had fallen to her feet always made her sick with anger. She wasn't naive enough to believe that she could get her way all of the time, but she wished that there was someone in the world who wouldn't instill that feeling inside of her.

Once she was in her room, the first thing that Chloe did was grab the closest object to her —a rather expensive vase— and throw it across the room. And, while the action and sound of broken china gave her some relief from her anger, it did nothing to quell the feeling of disappointment that continued to course through her. Her hands grasped blindly for something else to destroy, but there was nothing within reach so she leaned down to undo her shoes and throw those in the same direction as the vase.

The sandals made a much less satisfying clunk against the ground, but she paid them little mind as she turned left and stalked in the direction of her bed. She stopped by her closet first and pulled out her favorite set of satin pajama and immediately changed. Slipping on a pair of house slippers, Chloe made her way over to her bathroom's vanity and made a meticulous effort to remove her makeup. She knew that she was rubbing much too roughly at her face, but the action, while somewhat uncomfortable, was soothing nonetheless. It was what she did every night before bed, and the familiar action helped to cool the anger that was boiling inside of her.

She knew that her father was right. He only denied her when she made an absolutely impossible request, but that didn't dispel the feeling of disappointment that continued to churn inside of her. If she were to be completely honest with herself, she would admit that it wasn't the immediate disappointment that ate at her.

No. It was a combination of all of her father's past disappointments.

Contrary to popular belief, the heiress was capable of forgiveness; a very thorough investigation into the akumas known as the Vanisher and Antibug would easily reveal as such. But, could anyone really expect her to easily forgive her father's disappointments? Especially when he attempted to buy them from her?

"Miss Chloe?"

Chloe turned off the water and threw the used wash rag into her bathroom hamper. "Yes Jacques," She asked her butler shortly as she walked into her room and flopped down on her bed.

"I-I brought up the sorbet as you requested." He entered the room and set the silver tray with the bowl containing her pineapple sorbet down on her nightstand. "I will send someone up right away to take care of the broken vase."

"Don't bother until tomorrow morning," Chloe said as she reached over to retrieve the bowl. "I want to go to bed as soon as I'm done with this and they'll only make a lot of unnecessary noise." Jacques paused and it appeared as though he wanted to protest, but Chloe shooed him away with her spoon. She then proceeded to take a bite of the cold treat while ignoring his presence.

Chloe waited until she heard the door shut before she reached over and retrieved a remote from her nightstand. With the press of a button she turned on the television in her room. The first thing that appeared was the local news station. She made a face at the news anchor reporting on world politics before navigating to one of the many streaming services that were available to her.

After a moment of contemplation she selected one of her favorite cartoons and resumed where she had left off.

It was an older cartoon, something that she wouldn't admit to watching no matter how many times someone may ask, but it was one that she had found one night last year during a particularly lonely night. She hadn't been too keen on it, especially after what had happened with Ladybug. But, she had pushed play and watched it on a whim, and, ever since then, she had decided to watch the show all of the way through during other such lonely nights.

The show itself was a rather basic cartoon about a teenager who saved the world. It even had supervillains who were anything but smart and the hero had a sidekick. What really drew Chloe in, though, was how the girl, a popular cheerleader, was able to save the world without a secret identity. In fact, it seemed as though the hero was only able to do so through her connections to people that she had helped out before.

Chloe loved the idea of being a superhero, and she had lots of connections to people so it was easy for her to put herself in the lead role. She had even convinced Sabrina to role play as the sidekick a few times like they had with the real superheroes of Paris. But, when she was alone like this, she knew that becoming a superhero, even one as "normal" as the girl in this show, was impossible.

She knew that she'd never become one.

And that disappointed her more than anything else.

* * *

A/N: Thank you so much for reading! I've been working on this story for awhile now and I'm so excited to share it with all of you! Just so you know I plan to update this every two weeks on Wednesdays, though life does happen. So, if for some reason I'm late just know I haven't given up on this!

Also a super important thing- this story wouldn't be what it is without the hard work of my beta TeaAddictedGhostHunter. She's been working so hard with me to make this as good as it can possibly be and I can honestly say that this may not have seen the light of day without her. Also a shout out to everyone in the GhostHuntHQ fam who's been putting up with me these past few months ;) .

Lastly, thank you so much for reading and please let me know what you think either in a review here or over on my tumblr!

See you in a couple of weeks!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

 _if i was you, i'd wanna be me too_

* * *

The first day of the new school year started as any other school day for Chloe.

She woke up about two hours before she needed to leave and began putting on her make up for the day. Some people believed in taking a shower in the morning to start their day, but Chloe whole-heartedly believed that the best time to take a shower or bath was at night. From what she had learned from various beauty magazines, nighttime showers benefitted her skin as well as contributing to her essential beauty sleep.

As she began her ritual of applying her cosmetics, Chloe absently listened to her television which was another part of her routine. It didn't matter what it was, it could be a soap opera, an old television show that she loved, or the news like today, she just didn't particularly like the sound of silence. It was boring and allowed for all sorts of troublesome thoughts to bother her.

"… I have to admit Alec," the news anchor, Nadja Chamack, said as she talked to her co-host, Alec Cataldi, on their joint morning show, "All of this continued peace makes me feel anxious."

"I don't know why," Alec said. "I say we all enjoy this peace as long as we can! There's no reason to fear Hawk Moth anyways, so if he wants to give us a break I say we take it! Besides, we know that Ladybug and Chat Noir are still around so I don't see a need for any of us to be paranoid."

"I'm not saying that we should live in paranoia, Alec," Nadja said as she took a drink from the coffee mug in her hand before setting it on the table, "It's just that I think we should be more proactive during this time of peace. Hawk Moth isn't known for his predictability, but he is known for his ability to take advantage of people's negative emotions. If we are able to discover exactly what he used to target his past victims, perhaps we would be able to prevent him from coming back once and for all."

"Nadja," Alec deadpanned, "You are—"

A knock at her door drew Chloe's attention away from the television and her half-finished make up. "Yes," she called.

"Miss Chloe, your breakfast is ready," her butler said.

"Well then bring it in already!" She said as she turned her attention back to the mirror in order to focus on applying her eyeliner. It wouldn't do if she had to redo her whole eye because her hand slipped.

She heard the door open and could see Jacques walk in with a tray holding her breakfast. "A cup of fruit, two slices of rye toast with avocado and egg, as well as a glass of orange juice just as you requested, Miss. Where would you like me to put the tray?"

"Just put it on my night stand," Chloe said with a dismissive wave in the opposite direction of where she had directed. The butler, a man with a very pronounced moustache, nodded and did as he was told. Once he had finished, he came to stand behind his young mistress.

"Your father asked me to pass along that, in preparation for the one year anniversary of Ladybug and Chat Noir's first victory over Hawk Moth, he will be unable to attend dinner tonight. He sends his apologies and hopes that you can understand the circumstances."

Chloe took in a shallow breath before letting out a sigh. "Of course," she muttered as she roughly placed her eyeliner on the table and picked up her mascara instead.

For the past two weeks the two of them had shared rather peaceful dinners together, as they did before each school year, but, just as with any other year before it, once the first day came up... André became scarcer. It was almost like clockwork really. She didn't know what it was about her going to school that made him unable to come home before dinner, but it was a fact that never failed to cause disappointment to settle in her stomach and fester for days on end.

"Whatever," Chloe muttered testily. She looked back at Jacques as she roughly pulled the cap off of the eye cosmetic. She threw the offending item onto the surface of the vanity causing it to bounce and twirl. On its third bounce it fell into the crevice between the furniture and the wall. She stared at the point on the wall where the cap had bounced before its final descent and let out an annoyed hiss as she shot the servant a withering look which he met with an impassive one of his own. "Is there something else or are you just going to stand there forever?"

"He also said that he would send a finalized itinerary for the weekend-long celebration to you sometime this week. He hopes that you will be happy that the charity gala will be taking place as you'd suggested next Saturday. He said that much of the guest list has been finalized, but if there is anyone specific that you would like to invite then please let him know and he will add them as soon as possible."

"Tell him that I only want to invite Sabrina." She also wanted to invite Adrien, but she knew that her father would have invited him without any provocation. "Also, tell him that we'll need his card in order to buy dresses sometime this week."

She would allow for that to be his recompense for disappointing her again.

"I will do so immediately, Miss Chloe. If that will be all, then I will take my leave. Your driver should be ready in about an hour."

"Yeah, yeah, you're dismissed and all that," Chloe said as she proceeded to ignore the bowing servant by steadily applying the black liquid to her eye lashes.

As the door clicked closed Chloe deflated from her usual proud posture with a quiet and weak breath. She tried to line the other eye to match the other, but she couldn't seem to keep her hands from shaking. She was forced to set down her eyeliner, close her eyes, and focus on her breathing in an attempt the quell the rising emotions inside of her.

It wouldn't do to mess up the hard work she had put into her make up for someone as unreliable as her father. This wasn't the first time that he had cancelled plans with her in favor of taking care of the city, and it certainly wouldn't be the last.

It took her about five minutes before she could compose herself enough to finish putting on her makeup.

* * *

"Chloe!" Sabrina rushed over as Chloe opened the door to her limousine. "Let me take your bag!" Her friend reached for the personalized name-brand yellow and black shoulder bag she purchased from their trip. Chloe allowed her to do so before she shouldered her purse and left the vehicle without a word to her chauffeur.

Chloe stood tall as she slammed the door and followed closely behind as her bubbly friend began to gush. "Is this the bag that you bought in Monte Carlo? I forgot how beautiful it was!"

"Of course it is," she scoffed as she hitched her matching purse that had a hexagonal pattern stitched with gold thread higher on her shoulder. "I couldn't come to school with the same bag as I had last year."

"R-Right! Of course!" Sabrina said as she attempted to hide her own slightly worn bag. "And, is that the dress that you bought from that vendor in Venice?"

Chloe's eyes brightened slightly at her friend's impeccable memory. "Yes it is, but I had one of my tailors add a few extra details." Chloe smirked as she stopped to spin the off-the-shoulder dress around herself. The black and white vertical striped fabric twisted revealing an extra layer of black lace that her tailor had added. It then untwisted and returned to its original shape as she struck a confident pose. "Do you like it?"

"Yes!" Sabrina said as she rushed over to inspect the small lace details that were barely visible along the hem of Chloe's dress. "I'm sure that everyone else will absolutely adore it. Did your dad change the class roster like you wanted him to?"

Chloe's face twisted into a frown as she crossed her arms and turned an attentive eye towards the drop off lane for Adrien's car. "No. He said something stupid about how he couldn't change it because it's determined by what everyone is planning on doing after we graduate or something stupid like that." Chloe let out an annoyed sigh.

"That is really dumb," Sabrina agreed as she began juggling their things in pursuit of something in her bag. She rummaged around for a bit before pulling out her tablet and flicking a few times. A schedule popped up on the screen a moment later. "But I guess that means that the schedule they emailed us before school started is correct, then. Did you want to look over the schedule?"

Chloe glanced at it briefly before returning her eyes to the street in search for her childhood friend. "I just hope that Adrien is in our class this year. I don't know what I'd do if he wasn't." There was a small silence where the distracted heiress missed the look of hurt that crossed Sabrina's face before she continued to speak. "Ugh! Where is he? We're going to be late if he doesn't show up soon! You didn't see him walk inside yet, did you?"

"N-No. I've been here for the past hour and he hasn't showed up yet." Sabrina said as she shifted so that she could return her tablet. Chloe would be surprised if her genius of a friend didn't already have their schedule completely memorized already. "Maybe he had something before school that he had to do? He didn't mention that he had a photo shoot, did he?"

"No," Chloe said with a huff as she began to tap her toe on the ground. Granted the two supposed friends fell out of touch as soon as she had left on her cruise, but she didn't want to admit that out loud. He had known when she would be back so shouldn't he have made an effort to get in contact with her once she had arrived? She remembered having texted him once during the past two weeks to let him know that she was back in Paris, but he had kept his response rather short. Only a concise 'glad to hear' before a short exchange about how both of them had fun doing their respectful things until it proceeded to fizzle out into nothing.

The sound of loud laughter drew the attention of the pair as a group of increasingly familiar students made their way to the steps of the school.

"I swear, Adrien," the local blogger said loudly as she tossed a glance over her shoulder at the pair of boys trailing behind herself and her horrible best friend Marinette Dupain-Cheng, "You have _got_ to stop making those terrible puns!"

"They aren't _that_ terrible," Adrien defended himself with a laugh. "Besides, have you heard the puns that Marinette has made?"

"I-I don't know what you're talking about," Marinette said in an attempt to be off-handed. Chloe could see from a mile away that the girl still couldn't hold herself very well around her beyond obvious crush, but it appeared as though she had made some sort of progress over the summer break.

And then it happened. Chloe could feel something inside of her absolutely snap at the sight of Adrien smiling at that Dupain-Cheng girl. And not his obvious model smile. No it was his _real_ smile.

The one that she thought he'd lost forever two years ago.

"Adrikins!" Chloe called as she rushed forward, leaving Sabrina to stand awkwardly by herself at the base of the stairs. Without much consideration on her part, she threw herself at Adrien and nearly tackled him to the ground. If it weren't for the fact that this was a regular occurrence, it was very likely that the pair of childhood friends would have fallen to the the ground in a heap.

"H-hey Chlo," Adrien said on a breath as he attempted to regain his balance.

"What are you doing walking to school? Did something happen to your father's car?" Chloe asked as she attempted to isolate Adrien from the small group of friends. She pulled back to look him over in an attempt to assess whether he was okay. From the way he looked it appeared as though he was, indeed, in good health, but that still did not explain as to the reason that he was walking to school.

When Nathalie had discovered _exactly_ how Adrien had been enrolled in school, she had made it abundantly clear that this was one of the most important stipulations for Adrien to attend public school. Considering that her plan had gone forward with barely a hiccup, Chloe chose to not throw a fit. Besides, she had been driven to school since she had first attended attended years ago. And, considering how much more protective Gabriel was, he surely wouldn't have caved on something as important an issue as his son's safety, right?

"Ah," Adrien said as he brought one of his hands up to scratch the back of his neck, "I was actually able to convince my dad to let me walk to school as long as it was with a group." Chloe glanced around at his companions and frowned. She knew that he had become rather close to the quiet and shy Laheiff boy that had been in her class off and on over the years… But the addition of the pair of girls troubled her.

The most troubling of which, the daughter of her father's favorite chef, took the opportunity to open her big mouth to speak. "Yeah, Chloe. Adrien's been winning some major battles with his dad this summer. He's even gotten his dad to back down on the amount of photo shoots that he has to do." She then proceeded to cross her arms over her chest and leaned forward to give a very pointed look at the blonde. It looked as though the other girl had more that she wanted to say, but Chloe didn't need Alya to spell out exactly what she had left unsaid:

Adrien didn't need her anymore.

Chloe felt anger spike inside of her as she leveled the reporter with a steely glare.

It had been obvious from the first day the two girls had met that Alya did not like Chloe, a sentiment she wholeheartedly returned. But what the girl didn't know was just how deep such an insinuation cut her. She went through great lengths to _get_ Adrien here in the first place.

A fact that everyone chose to ignore.

Chloe kept her gaze locked on Alya for a long minute of strained silence. She wanted nothing more than to take the girl out, but even as the anger began to boil and fill her chest with an uncomfortable pressure, she knew that it wouldn't do any good. One small glance at Adrien's concerned face and she knew that Alya was part of the group that Adrien cared for a great deal. Starting a fight with her wouldn't do any good.

So, with a great deal of effort she forced an overly confused look onto her face and turned to Adrien.

"Adrikins, why didn't you say that you had more free time? We could have hung out when I got back from the cruise!"

"Sorry, Chlo," Adrien said sheepishly. "I thought that you were busy getting ready for school so I didn't want to bother you."

She could tell that he was lying to her. The way he looked at anyone but her gave him away, but she allowed it. She would allow Adrien to get away with almost anything, really.

Chloe leaned forward and jerked his arm so that she was close to him. "You know that you can always bother me," she said as she squeezed his bicep tightly. "I'm never too busy that you can't come hang out with me. You have to know that I miss hanging out with you." She looked up at his hesitant face with wide blue eyes that were somewhat akin to a puppy's.

"Ah, yeah it has been a while, hasn't it?"

"It's been _forever_ ," Chloe said as she turned up her pleading look.

"Maybe we should hang out sometime soon then?" He said uncertainly as she let out an excited shriek.

"Absolutely! It'll be so much fun, I'll tell you all about what you missed on the cruise and I'll even give you one of the souvenirs I bought!" At that moment the school bell rang, signaling that classes were about to convene. "But, we can talk more about that later. We need to get to class!"

And, just like that, Chloe made a bee-line for the door with Adrien in tow. She could hear the others calling out protests, but she didn't pay them any mind.

As she dragged him towards their classroom, Chloe felt a small dart of ice cold fear needle its way into her heart. She wouldn't admit it to anyone, but the idea of losing Adrien was frightening to her. She hadn't minded him making new friends, but if he was going to replace her…

Chloe tightened her hold. It wouldn't do to get caught up on suppositions. She was Chloe Bourgeois the Princess of Paris. She may have made a miscalculation, but that didn't mean that she had lost Adrien forever.

She strode forward with purposeful steps as the momentary cold was melted away by her fiery determination. There was no way that she was going to let herself be replaced by these new friends of his.

* * *

The first class, as always, was merely a formality. Just as the year before, it was their homeroom period where they would receive announcements and such so it was not much different from how it had been in collège.

The makeup of the class was, for the most part, the same. A few of their classmates from the year prior weren't present and they had been replaced with two new classmates. Though Sabrina seemed to be saddened by the change, Chloe couldn't be bothered with finding out who had left and who had joined. What did catch her attention was the fact that they had a new homeroom teacher.

He was a man by the name of Nicolas Martin. A new teacher, he had moved to Paris after recently getting his teaching certificate from a university near Normandy. He rambled about how he wanted to help all of them as best as he could. He even went so far as to talking about how he hoped that everyone could get along in the coming year. But, what really drew her attention was how he presented himself.

Most male teachers that she had grown up with always kept their hair short. But this man had brown hair that was long enough to necessitate a ponytail holder. Overall his look, while eclectic, still gave off a vibe of professionalism, which was somewhat confusing to the young heiress. Aside from a few artists over the years, she had never encountered someone like him.

She still didn't pay much attention, it was just the usual awkward introductions and announcements. Since none of it was important, she sat back and allowed Sabrina to take any of the necessary notes that she may need. In the meantime, she considered what exactly she and Adrien could do together.

There was the obvious gala that they would both be attending, and her father would certainly not forget to invite her friend and his father. But if she wanted to rekindle her friendship with him, it would need to be more intimate than that. While she enjoyed spending time with him at large events such as the upcoming celebration for Chat Noir and Ladybug, she longed for some of the more casual occasions that they had participated in over the years. Granted most of those were coordinated between their mothers… but surely they could find something to do, right?

It wasn't until everyone was standing to go to their next class period that Chloe pulled herself from her musings and stood to do the same. After a moment she turned to Sabrina expectantly. The girl was in the process of packing her things away, but hastened her movements the instant that she noticed Chloe staring at her.

"Our next class is art!" She said excitedly as she moved around their desk.

Chloe turned her nose up at the mention of the subject. "Art? I thought that I got rid of that from our schedule."

"I, uh, I-I thought that you would like it because it would be an easy class." Sabrina tried her best to appear as though she wasn't disappointed by Chloe's reaction, but it was quite apparent to her friend just from the way her shoulders drooped.

"Why would I like something as stupid as that? I'm sure that it'll be an absolute waste of my time. Is there any way to change it to a class that will actually matter?" Sabrina fumbled with her bag as she pulled out her tablet and began furiously swiping in hopes that she could find some kind of information that would appease her friend. Both girls continued to make their way out of the room regardless of Sabrina's distracted state.

"From the looks of it we… we really don't have any other options," Sabrina said as she flinched from the scathing look Chloe gave her as she pulled the tablet from her friend's grasp.

"What do you mean that we have no other options?"

"I mean that we didn't really have a choice in the classes that we could take this year." Sabrina pointed to the classes that were slated for availability that year.

On it displayed a short list of the available classes situated in a grid. And, while there were a few classes listed alongside Art in the same time block, none of them were viable options. Unless, of course, they chose to pursue a future in welding or mechanics.

"This is an absolute outrage!" Chloe said as she gripped the tablet so tightly that she nearly broke it in two. "Why would we have to take such a useless subject? I need to call Daddy and—"

"Art isn't a useless subject!" Chloe halted in her indignant tirade to wheel around and throw a nasty glare at the classmate who dared to oppose her. As her gaze landed on the familiar face of Nathaniel, her look of scorn morphed into one of superiority.

"Of course _you_ would think that," the heiress said as she pushed the tablet into Sabrina's surprised hands. The poor girl nearly dropped the expensive technology, but, at the very last second, was able to protect it. "No one ever uses art. There's no practicality behind it, and it's only purpose is to look pleasing. So, therefore, it's useless."

"People use art every day!"

"Oh, please." Chloe crossed her arms as her nose rose a degree higher in the air. "You can't honestly tell me that a majority of people just sit around and paint every day. Besides I—"

"Need to be getting to class," said a short woman as she gave everyone present a stern glare. "I don't know where you should be right now, but I suggest that you go there promptly. Else I will be forced to send you to the principal's office!"

"Y-yes, ma'am," Nathaniel said with a slightly bowed head. He turned in the direction of their class and paused only long enough to give Chloe a scathing look before he disappeared around the corner of the hallway.

"Oh, whatever," Chloe said as she flipped her long ponytail off of her shoulder and headed in the same direction her classmates had gone. She was soon followed by an apologetic Sabrina. The teacher who had scolded them gave an annoyed sigh before returning to her own set of students.

The bell went off just as the two girls entered the room. She paused at the door to see that the tables of the room, desks that fit two people, were set up in a semicircle with the teacher's desk at the front and a station of supplies in the center. Chloe, beyond ascertaining that there was an empty table on the left side, didn't pay her classmates any mind as she and Sabrina took the last available seats. As she carelessly threw her bag on the floor, she heard the sound of the art teacher closing the door. She refused to look up at the teacher directly, but could see her lean against the front of her desk.

"Welcome class!" The woman said. "My name is Mrs. Rousseau and I'm going to be your art teacher this year!" She paused for a moment to allow for a few of the students to say small greetings before she continued.

"Now, like most of your other teachers, I'd like to get to know you. But, I don't believe in doing it the old-fashioned way. So, instead of you telling me your name, what you did this summer, and or a hobby that you have. I'd like for each of you to _show_ me who you are.

"As I'm sure most of you have already noticed, you have a sketchbook, a few pencils, and an eraser sitting in front of you." Chloe glanced down at her desk and took in the supplies that she had completely glossed over in her indignation. She touched the black cover of the sketchbook in curiosity as Mrs. Rousseau continued. "You will be using a sketchbook every day to complete various assignments this year. Since I know that not everyone has access to art supplies outside of school, I went ahead and took the liberty of buying one for each of you. I cannot buy everyone another sketchbook, though, so I suggest taking good care of this one.

"To start off, I'd like for each of you to take the sketchbook, write your name at the top, and then draw something that shows something about yourself. It can be a hobby, interest, what you did this summer, anything goes really. I'll give you about ten minutes and then, once time is up, we'll go around the room and show everyone what you came up with. It probably goes without saying, but make sure that what you come up with is appropriate and not too personal." A round of light laughter went around the room. "Alright, everyone, start!"

And, with that, everyone reached for their respective sketchbooks and began on their work. As the whooshing of paper and the scratching of pencils filled the silence of the room, Chloe gave Sabrina a pointed look before she pushed her own sketchbook in the direction of her friend. There was no way that she was going to do any work for a class that she didn't even want to take.

Sabrina looked up from her own sketchbook and let out a sigh. She took a moment to look at her own forlornly, but she didn't protest. After a moment of contemplation she took the sketchbook, opened it overtop her own, and began to make quick work. Chloe let out a huff and inspected her nails.

A few minutes later, Sabrina was in the process of pushing the book to Chloe so that she could return to her own sketchbook when the sound of shoes on linoleum tile caused the girls to look up. In front of their desk was their new teacher. With her arms crossed, it was apparent that she was not pleased in the least.

"Would the two of you mind telling me what it is that you are doing?"

Chloe could feel Sabrina freeze in the middle of attempting to work on her own sketch. Chloe, nonplussed, twisted the notebook so that the teacher could see the simple sketch of a cruise ship underneath the neat scrawl of her full name. "The activity, obviously," she said as she arched an eyebrow at the teacher in challenge.

"Having your friend do the work for you was not a part of my instructions," Mrs. Rousseau said without glancing at the drawing. The two stared at each other for a short and tense moment before the adult let out an annoyed sigh. "I won't be punishing either of you for cheating. But I believe that everything has a natural consequence." The woman's eyes surveyed the room before stopping on an empty seat that was currently occupied by Nathaniel's bag.

"I usually don't like assigned seats, but it appears as though I will have to implement them so that you aren't tempted to have someone else do your work for you." She did glance down at the sketch before addressing the student before her. "Chloe please gather your things and sit over there."

"But—"

"Do as instructed or I will be forced to report both of you to the principal for cheating." Chloe let out a scandalized gasp as she leveled Mrs. Rousseau with a superior glare.

"I don't think you know who you're talking to. When Daddy hears—"

"I'm sure that he will be disappointed that his daughter was caught cheating." Chloe let out an indignant noise as she pointed a finger at Sabrina.

"But, Sabrina—"

"Was obviously coerced by you to do the work for you. I don't condone her behavior, but she doesn't deserve as much of a consequence as you do. Now, please, move to the seat over there or else I will be forced to send you to the principal's office for disrupting my class."

Chloe, obviously caught in a tight place with no foreseeable way out, grabbed her things and walked briskly over to the other side of the room. As she approached, Nathaniel scrambled to move his things to make room for her. She unceremoniously dropped her bag on the floor with a loud bang accompanied by her classmate's laughter.

"Now that that matter has been taken care of," Mrs. Rousseau turned from Sabrina's desk and returned to her own desk. "All of you have about five minutes to complete your drawing. If—"

"But, Mrs. Rousseau," Sabrina interrupted, "That isn't nearly enough t—"

" _All of you_ ," the teacher repeated with a pointed look at both Chloe and Sabrina, "will have five more minutes to complete your drawing. If you finish early you may quietly share it with your neighbor. Now all of you please return to your work." With that Mrs. Rousseau spun on her heel and made her way to her desk to allow her students to complete the task that she had set forth.

Chloe aggressively opened the sketchpad and messily scrawled her name across the top of a new sheet. She ignored her classmates and stabbed the paper in preparation of drawing the main part of the assignment. But, as she went to draw a crude sketch, she felt her mind go completely blank.

No matter how hard she stared at the paper, nor how hard she pressed down with her pencil, she couldn't think of something that she would want to share with the class. It would be easy to just draw something from this summer's cruise, but she didn't have the time to capture such beauty on the page before her.

Chloe could hear her classmates' beginning to chatter with each other —a clear sign that they were finished with their pieces. She bit her lip and stared blankly at the paper in front of her. Trying to will something to come to mind, all she could see was the almost blank page before her.

She glanced out of the corner of her eye at her tablemate's sketchbook. He had drawn a fairly detailed tent surrounded by rough sketches of trees that he was currently shading. She was tempted to copy it into a crude sketch of her own and lie about it, but the blank expanse of her mind kept her from even doing that much.

She glanced around the room again and saw how her classmates were sharing their drawings with those who were closest to them. Her gaze paused as it came to Marinette and Alya's table. The two girls were talking to each other, but as she looked at the pair, her eyes were drawn to Marinette's feet. She stared at them for a moment as a distant memory came to mind. And without much preamble on her part, she began to sketch something that she hadn't considered since she was a little girl.

Mrs. Rousseau started talking and calling on students to share their pictures, but Chloe allowed for all of it to become background noise as she focused on the curves and arches she was sketching. She faintly noticed when Nathaniel spoke of a camping trip that he went on with his family during the summer, but she didn't truly listen until she heard Sabrina speak.

"… and I went on a cruise for most of the summer. It was the first time I'd ever been out of the country so it was a lot of fun. We didn't stay in many of the cities for very long, but we went to a beach in Croatia that I really liked." Chloe glanced up and saw a rough sketch of the beach they had visited. In all honesty it looked like any old beach to her. But as she studied it a bit longer, she noticed two sunbathing chairs that resembled the ones that they had rented that day.

She remembered how that day in particular was, arguably, one of the best out of the entirety of the cruise. They hadn't gone to any fancy dinners, ostentatious shows, historic sights, or even clothes shopping. Instead, they had just spent time together. They even instituted a 'no phones' rule and forced each other to alternate between sunbathing and reading books that they had picked up from a shop nearby. She could remember how they had talked about anything and everything without a care in the world.

Even though it was a day that they hadn't documented, Chloe knew that she would never forget it.

"That's so exciting, Sabrina!" Mrs. Rousseau said with a genuine smile on her face. "Is there any particular reason that you liked that beach?"

"Uh," Sabrina paused as she glanced at Chloe for a moment before returning her attention to Mrs. Rousseau, a small blush heating up her face. "N-not really. It was just a lot of fun because we got to spend the whole day there." Mrs. Rousseau nodded, a knowing glint in her eye before she turned her attention to Chloe.

"And you, Chloe? What did you choose to show us?"

Chloe could feel the eyes of her classmates turn to her and she felt herself freeze. Normally she would share her opinion or work with a blasé attitude to the class, but that was when she wasn't sharing something personal. She hesitated another moment before she took a small breath, picked up her sketchbook, and then turned it for the class to see. She allowed the picture to register with everyone before she finally spoke.

"I drew ballet shoes because I used to take ballet when I was a little girl." She didn't explain further, but an image of her old studio immediately came to mind. She could see her mother walking beside her. She always loved to point out all of the neighboring shops until, finally, they arrived at the small studio run by a family friend. It wasn't one that would have put her on the track to big performances, but she remembered that she'd had a lot of fun learning how to bend and move her body alongside her peers.

"Those shoes look really good, Chloe. I'm glad that you chose to share something personal with us," Mrs. Rosseau said with a kind smile. And, almost as if she could tell that Chloe wouldn't have explained more even if she had been pressed to do so, she glanced at her watch.

"Alright, class," Mrs. Rosseau said as she walked to her desk and picked up a stack of papers, passing them to each individual student as she walked around the room. "We don't have a lot of time to go over the syllabus, but we'll get through what you need to do for your first assignments and then we'll pick it up at the beginning of our next class."

Chloe wasn't sure exactly what Mrs. Rosseau said after that. She didn't really care to know what was expected of her. She could easily find out later from Sabrina. But as she sat there, she did notice a few pairs of eyes glance at her from time to time. One held surprise, another consideration, one with concern, and two with knowledge. She didn't meet any of their gazes head-on, in fact she made sure to keep her eyes glued to her sketch.

But she did catalogue them for future reference.

* * *

A/N: Thank you so much for reading!

Also a big thank you for the warm response that this has received! It truly makes my day when I read all of your kind words of encouragement! Also, mad props to TeaAddictedGhostHunter for her hard work betaing this. She always challenges me to write better and better and I don't know what I'd do without her help!

As always please let me know what you thought! I'm trying to be more responsive so if you have comments or questions shoot them my way and I'll try to get back to you! I'm also super active over on tumblr under the url Samantha-GirlScout so don't be afraid to reach out that way as well. It won't be a bother I promise!)

I can't wait to share more of this story with all of you. See you guys in two weeks!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

 _i really wanted these pages to begin with 'once upon a time'_

* * *

Chloe stared listlessly through the window of her limo as it idled outside the Raincomprix residence. She and Sabrina were supposed to go dress shopping today in preparation for the Akuma Victims Charity Gala. The event was to be hosted that weekend in conjunction with all the festivities that had already been planned. Chloe took pride in the fact that she had suggested it. Originally there had only been a concert after some ceremony on Friday. But, after Chloe had bemoaned the fact that there were no fun parties planned, her father had then organized the gala in an effort to appease her.

To say that she was excited would have been an understatement.

The day Ladybug confirmed that she and Chat Noir would attend the Gala was, by far, one of the best days that Chloe's ever had. It was a highly guarded surprise that Chloe couldn't tell anyone, not even Sabrina, that her hero would be receiving an _Honour Medal for Courage and Devotion._ Being one of the greatest honors that a French Citizen could receive, she believed that it was long overdue at this point. But that wasn't the only exciting bit of news she had received that day.

She would also be able to hang out with Ladybug for an extended amount of time!

Normally it would fall onto her father to escort the guests of honor around the Gala hall, but Chloe had begged for days upon days until he had finally relinquished the task to her. It was then up to her to make sure that they got from place to place and were able to meet all of the important people that would be in want of an introduction. She didn't particularly like playing hostess at events like this because becoming familiar with important people was more taxing than she'd ever admit. But for the chance to talk to Ladybug would be worth it. And, knowing that Sabrina would be supplying the names that she needed as her assistant hostess, was comforting as well.

The sound of a door opening broke Chloe out of her concentrated state.

"Sorry that you had to wait!" Sabrina said with a small grimace as she slid into the seat beside Chloe. "My mom was lecturing me about going out shopping." She shut the door behind her and buckled up as the limo pulled away from the curb.

Chloe raised an eyebrow that made Sabrina wince. "What would she have to yell at you for?"

Sabrina's hand subconsciously went to her purse.

"Ah, she was just concerned that we were going shopping so soon after the cruise is all." She bit her lip and attempted to smile through the lie. For many it may have passed, but it was so glaringly obvious to Chloe.

Chloe gave Sabrina an incredulous look as she crossed her arms. "You actually brought your wallet with you?"

"Well, I didn't want to assu—"

"We've been over this, Sabrina." Chloe sighed. "When I take you on shopping trips like this, I pay for every necessary purchase. No exceptions."

She reached across the seat and pulled the purse out of Sabrina's lap. Sabrina let out an indignant cry as Chloe took the small sparkly blue wallet. She didn't hesitate to place it in her own purse.

"But—"

Chloe roughly replaced the purse back into Sabrina's lap.

"You'll get your wallet after we're done today. "

Sabrina fidgeted with a few of her keychains. She looked down at one of the little trinkets as she spun the inner piece that said 'Barcelona.' She opened her mouth, but chose to allow the clinking of the keychain fill the silence instead.

It was well known that Chloe was rather free with her gifts. Sabrina appreciated all of them, but at the same time, Sabrina liked to use her own money to buy things. It was always a subject of great contention between them. Chloe couldn't understand why Sabrina would try to pay for things when she obviously didn't have a lot of money.

Sabrina's family wasn't rich. While her father was in a high position within the police, her mother stayed home with her baby brother. His income couldn't possibly support a growing family or the excessive amount of shopping Chloe was known for. The only option that made sense was for Chloe to pay for whatever Sabrina wanted.

Besides, it wasn't like it was her money anyways.

"Now," Chloe continued as she readjusted her own purse, "This is going to be one of the most important events that we attend ever in our lives. It's going to be very formal, and everyone is going to expect us to dress our best." She glanced at her friend for a moment with a critical eye. "I think that, for you, we should look for a dress with a modest length."

Sabrina's forehead creased. "Why?"

"Have you worn an immodest dress before?"

"N-Not really."

"Exactly. We can't risk you looking unconfident. Though that'll mean that I won't be able to be too immodest myself."

"But didn't you talk about buying that cutout Gabriel dress?"

"Yes I did," Chloe pursed her lips for a moment before shaking her head. "But we have to match somewhat. If our dresses are too different in length then the press will talk a bit too much about that. And we can't have that, now can we?"

"Right."

The limo came to a halt and Chloe's chauffeur sprinted to open her door. She stepped onto the curb while Sabrina rushed around to stand beside her.

She turned to her chauffeur. "Wait here until we're done. We're going out to eat afterwards and I don't want to go searching for you, understood?"

The man bowed. "Yes ma'am. Please enjoy your shopping."

Chloe gave a curt nod to the man before turning to Sabrina. "Come, Sabrina."

She began to walk in the direction of their first destination: _Chef-d'oeuvre_. It was advertised as a newest and hottest dress boutique on the Champs-Élysées. Many well-respected fashion magazines had been raving about it recently.

But while Chloe usually agreed with such experts, she didn't put all of her stock in their opinions. Years of experience taught her to take such things with a grain of salt. Oftentimes their words were swayed by money and favors instead of fact.

Chloe would be the judge of which had won out.

* * *

Chef-d'oeuvre turned out to be a complete bust.

Not only did the store have tacky eveningwear, the quality of the workmanship was beyond subpar. Chloe didn't know what the supposed critics had seen in the store, but she was sorely disappointed.

If she had been alone she would have turned around after only five minutes, but Sabrina had spied a purple dress that looked promising. Chloe entertained her friend's whims and allowed her to try it on, but she made a point to loudly announce that she would not be doing so herself.

The dress itself had not looked too terrible on Sabrina, but they needed to find the perfect dress not some mediocre piece of cloth. They had attended quite a few events while on the cruise, but this would be _the_ most important event she would attend this year. Possibly even the most important event of their _lives._

There would be more media outlets than she cared to count. More critical eyes than Sabrina had ever experienced before. And there was no way that Chloe would allow her friend to be scorned by the media for a poor fashion choice.

So, with a loud declaration that they could _obviously_ do better, Chloe ordered Sabrina to change. She then promised the rather distraught owner that she would be writing her own review. It took Sabrina pointing out the time for Chloe to calm down and march out the door and down the street.

They had a bit more luck in the next shop. The higher quality craftsmanship certainly helped as well as the variety of colors and styles. Both girls enjoyed trying on different dresses and much of Chloe's ire cooled with every excited selfie they took together.

Chloe felt much of the happiness they had experienced during the cruise. Though it was a welcome relief to spend quality time with Sabrina, a part of Chloe felt a little uncomfortable lying to her friend.

During the time between the cruise and the first day of school, when Sabrina decided to spend time with her family, Chloe had mostly been left to her own devices. Without much forethought, she went to many shops in another shopping district and bought her gala dress out of spite.

The image of the black and gold mermaid dress flittered through her mind, but Chloe knew that she couldn't share it with her friend just yet. Instead of coming completely clean, she made a point to mention that she would probably wear something old that she had yet to wear. It surprised Sabrina some to hear as Chloe wasn't one to wear something out of season, but she was successfully distracted with another item to try on and didn't pry further.

Despite their beauty, Chloe could tell that none of the dresses in the shop were quite right for Sabrina. So, once they had gone through an adequate amount of apparel, Chloe declared that it was time to move on. Their walk to the next shop was filled with laughter as they looked over their pictures and chattered about what they liked about the dresses and what they hoped to find.

As they had walked around the third boutique, Chloe kept an eye on her friend and found that Sabrina's eyes kept returning to a teal off-the-shoulder dress with a lace bodice. The dress itself was rather simple, but she could immediately tell that the color would make her friend's eyes pop. Chloe looked down at the purple dress she had been considering for Sabrina and allowed the material to slip from her hands.

Chloe marched over to the other dress.

"She'd like to try that dress on," Chloe said loudly to the attendant who had been following them around. The somewhat frazzled woman immediately picked up the garment and rushed to Sabrina's reserved room.

"Chloe," Sabrina said timidly, "That dress is—"

"What you're going to be trying on," Chloe finished as she wheeled her friend in the direction of the changing rooms. Sabrina tried to protest, but Chloe turned her attention away. Sabrina, sighing in defeat, made her way into the changing rooms.

As Chloe waited, she perused the accessories and found quite a few options such as purses and clutches. It didn't take long to find a jeweled teal clutch for Sabrina. As she looked at the options for herself, her hands paused over an unlined purse comprised of honeycombs and a smattering of bees. It was the only one of its kind. She considered it for a moment before deciding to buy it on a whim.

"Take these," she said brusquely to the attendant, "And make sure that the gold purse is lined with black satin before it is delivered to the Grand Paris Hotel."

"But, ma'am—" Chloe walked away from the lady without giving her a chance to continue. It didn't matter if the shop didn't normally make such alterations. If they wanted her patronage, and their good reputation left intact, they would do as she had told them.

Sabrina exited her room as Chloe came to stand in the entrance of the changing area. Sabrina bit her lip as she came to a stop in front of Chloe's critical eyes. Her friend didn't say anything for a long while as Chloe looked over how the dress fit from every possible angle. The dress itself was rather flattering and though the maxi style allowed the train to drag on the floor, that could be easily fixed with the right pair of heels.

In the end it was the look of barely concealed hope in Sabrina's eyes that convinced her.

"We'll take it," Chloe announced."Sabrina go and change back into your clothes. We need to hurry if we're going to get the right shoes for this dress."

"I'll be right back!" Sabrina called as she hurried back towards the changing room. The look of pure happiness and gratitude that had flashed across her face warmed a small part of Chloe and sparked a smirk on her own.

Chloe knew that quite a few of their classmates, namely one Marinette Dupain-Cheng, thought that she simply bought gifts for Sabrina as a shallow gesture of friendship… But there was more to it than that. She knew that gifts couldn't buy friendship, she had received her fair share of meaningless gifts over the years, but there was a type of thrill she received from the look that always crossed her friend's face when she found just the right one.

It took much less time for Sabrina to change back into her normal clothes than it did for her to change into the dress. Chloe suspected that it had to do with some insecurities on Sabrina's part, but she didn't call attention to it. With a nod to the attendant that clearly said that she expected the dress to be at her father's hotel as soon as possible, she turned to her friend.

"While you were trying on that dress I found us purses. But, we still need to buy shoes," Chloe said as she sniffed at the small collection that was a short distance away.

"I think I remember there was a shoe shop just down the street," Sabrina said as she pulled out her phone.

Chloe glanced at the phone for a moment before nodding and making her way to the entrance of the store. She expertly retrieved her father's card and swiped it at the register. She felt a bit of satisfaction as the machine made a ding signalling that it had been accepted.

"Here's your receipt," the cashier said, "We'll have your purchases delivered soon. Is there anything else you need?"

Chloe took the piece of paper and stuffed it into her purse. "Make sure that it's there no later than tomorrow afternoon."

"Of course, have a nice day."

"Let's go Sabrina." Chloe turned away from the counter and walked at a clipped pace to the door. She was halfway out the door before she heard a faint "coming!" behind her. She glanced at her phone and saw that they only had about an hour to find the perfect pair of shoes. She waited just long enough for Sabrina to get close to the door before she turned and picked up her pace down the street.

The shoe boutique turned out to be a fruitful endeavor. Chloe was able to obtain the absolute _perfect_ pair of heels for each of them. Sabrina wasn't too keen on the height of hers, but Chloe assured her that she would be willing to give her walking lessons.

With the shoes purchased, placed in paper bags, and slung over their shoulders, Chloe and Sabrina exited the shop and made their way back towards the car. They were about a block away from the car when Sabrina paused in the middle of the sidewalk and stared at a sign above an ice cream vendor excitedly. She turned to Chloe with bright eyes.

"Can I have my wallet back now?"

Chloe looked between her friend and the sign before crossing her arms with a huff. "We've been over this, Sabrina. During trips like this I—"

"Pay for every necessary purchase," Sabrina completed with an eerie amount of accuracy. "But ice cream isn't a necessary purchase so I can buy it for us!" Knowing that she was technically correct, she excitedly extended her hand forward in anticipation.

"Look, as flattering as it is—"

"Please, Chloe? Let me do something small to pay you back. I think that they even have your favorite flavor!"

"Sabrina, you don't need to pay me back. I…" Chloe trailed off as she watched the excitement in Sabrina's eyes dim. Chloe didn't understand why refusing the offer made Sabrina so disappointed, but she found that she couldn't quite refuse her friend this small request.

Chloe sighed loudly in defeat. "Fine. But only buy me a small, understand?"

Sabrina squealed. "Thank you, Chloe!"

"I don't know why you're so excited to waste your money like this," Chloe mumbled under her breath.

She retrieved the worn wallet and was about to hand it off when it was suddenly stolen from her grasp. It took Chloe and Sabrina a moment to realize what happened, but when it finally registered, the looks on their faces contrasted drastically. Sabrina's face crumpled in sorrow while Chloe's twisted in rage.

Looking for the perpetrator, Chloe whirled around and spotted a boy hastily making his way through the crowd in the opposite direction of the car.

"Wait here," Chloe said over her shoulder before she took off after the boy. "Stop him!" she hollered as she pushed her way through the large throng of people. The crowd was slow to respond and none of the bystanders moved to intervene.

Chloe let out an annoyed screech. Adrenaline and white-hot anger fueled her pursuit as she closed the gap between herself and the boy. She watched him turn sharply into an alleyway a ways ahead of her. She poured on more speed as she rounded the same corner a few seconds behind him. She felt satisfaction settle as a smirk on her face as she realized that the alley didn't offer the thief an exit.

The boy whirled around with wild eyes and began banging on the back entrance of a nondescript shop. Chloe closed the gap and used her slight advantage in height to intimidate him. The boy cowered and backed against the wall.

"Hand over my friend's wallet. Now."

"Look lady I was just—"

"I don't care to hear your excuses. You just made me run in designer shoes and mess up my hair because you couldn't keep your hands to yourself today. Give me her wallet or I'll call the chief of police on his personal phone to come and pick you up for stealing from his daughter."

The boy's eyes widened. "Th-the... She is his— his daughter?" He swallowed hard as he looked around for something. When he didn't find it he wilted. Without a word he reached into his pocket and surrendered the purse. Chloe snatched it from him and opened it to inspect the contents. Upon finding nothing missing, she snapped it shut and exchanged it for her cell phone.

"Wait! You said—"

"I never said anything about not calling the police entirely," Chloe sneered. She was one key press away from completing her phone call when the door beside them slammed open with a loud clang. She looked up to find a short man in a tacky Hawaiian shirt standing in the doorway.

"What on Earth is going on out here?" He looked from Chloe to the boy and frowned in confusion. "Michael, what mischief did you cause this time?"

"I—"

"This _boy_ stole my friend's wallet." The older man's face creased in concern before he walked forward and grabbed the boy, Michael, by the ear and forced him down into a bow. He followed suit as well as he could with the support of a walking cane.

"I apologize for my great-nephews misdeeds. His father spoiled him when he was younger and now he believes in getting whatever he wants no matter the consequences. I will make sure that he is punished accordingly."

Chloe snorted. "What are you going to do? Make him wash windows?"

"I was thinking that a military school would perhaps do the trick. Have them teach him some discipline."

The boy blanched. "Military school but—" The old man pulled harder on the boy's ear and forced him into a deeper bow. Michael let out a grunt.

"Apologize." Michael looked between Chloe and his great-uncle a few times before he mumbled a quiet apology under his breath. The older man sighed heavily. "There certainly is a lot of work to be done. Please forgive us. I must take action immediately."

Without another word, the old man pulled Michael behind him towards the door. Chloe made to stop him so that she might get restitution, but found the metal door slamming in her face. She blinked before trying the door only to find it locked.

"Chloe?" Sabrina asked from the entrance of the alleyway. Chloe gave the door one more tug before she growled. She was about to spew obscenities at the door when she saw Sabrina shaking slightly from how tightly she was clutching the strap of her purse.

Chloe let out an annoyed sigh before she spun away and walked to her friend. "I got your wallet back, but the thief got away."

"Oh," Sabrina said quietly. Chloe paused by her friend for a moment and wrenched one of Sabrina's white knuckles away from the strap. She then turned and led them back the way they had come.

"Let's go. That run made me hot and I think ice cream is now a necessity." Sabrina didn't argue.

In fact, Sabrina didn't say a single word for the rest of their trip. Chloe didn't force her to talk. Instead, she filled the silence with meaningless conversation about trends and gossip. By the time her limousine dropped Sabrina off she wasn't nearly as shaken, but it would likely take her the rest of the day to unwind.

Chloe didn't signal her chauffeur to return to the hotel until Sabrina was inside her house.

* * *

As the car made its way to the Grand Paris Hotel, Chloe forced herself to not think about anything important. Instead she took in the blurred city around her and thought of the meal that she and her father were supposed to share together that night. He had been absent the past week, but perhaps after all of the voicemails she had left he would reconsider.

Again, once the vehicle came to a stop, her driver rushed to open her door. She didn't spare him a glance as she made her way to the private door she and her father used to enter their living area. As she crossed the threshold, she felt dread fill her as she noticed her personal butler standing at attention.

If he was the one to receive her, then that usually meant bad news.

It was so familiar that she could predict how the interaction between the two of them would go. He would first acknowledge her:

"Your orders from the dress shop arrived while you were away. I put them in your room," a breath before he asked about her day, "Did you and Miss Raincomprix have fun shopping today?"

She would respond scathingly because he had been thinking more about the news than the fact she had been in danger, "We were interrupted by an almost-thief. How fun do you think _that_ was?"

An attempt to look unperturbed. Though she knew it hurt him when she was angry and lashed out at him, no matter how many times she did so. Then the apology: "I'm sorry," an attempt at empathy, "I understand that today must have been a trying day. If you would like for me to have your masseuse sent to your room later on I can do so."

And, finally, _the real_ reason he was sent to speak to her.

"Your father asked me to tell you that he will be unable to join you for dinner this evening. He wishes to apologize, but he has many meetings today and will not return to the hotel until late this evening. If you'd like I—"

Chloe knew that her next line was supposed to be what she wanted for dinner, but she had no more patience left. The fact that her father wasn't making time for her after such a tumultuous day spoke volumes. So, instead of following the usual script that helped things run smoothly, she changed the it.

"I'm done with this," she said shortly. "Don't talk to me. I'm not hungry, and I don't want anything from you or anyone else for the rest of the day. Good night."

With that, Chloe walked towards the elevator that would take her to her room. She could hear her butler attempting to dissuade her from skipping dinner, but she paid him no mind. From the pressure building behind her eyes she knew that if she were to attempt to engage with him again, she would end up crying.

So, without another word to her butler, Chloe summoned the elevator. It took everything in Chloe to keep her composure as she entered it and allowed it to whisk her away to the fifteenth floor. She could feel fractures forming in her resolve, but she wouldn't break just yet. She knew that there was a chance that someone would intercept her

And she couldn't stand the idea of breaking down in front of anyone.

Thankfully there was no one in the hallway and Chloe was able to enter her suite without incident. She made a point to lock the door behind her and place her purse on the foyer table but didn't bother to turn on the lights.

By the late afternoon light she made her way to her bathroom. She angrily scrubbed her makeup off of her face with growing fervor. She'd be damned if she made a mess of her pillows with her make up again.

No need to leave any possible evidence behind.

Without any grace, Chloe made her way back into her bedroom. She was about to throw herself into her bed to sleep the rest of the day away, but the sight of a small octagonal box gave her pause. The presence of the box ignited an especially hot anger within her. Another gift from her father in an attempt to appease her. Didn't he know that she wanted his companionship over these worthless gifts?

With a loud cry Chloe picked up the box and threw it against the far wall of her room. She didn't watch where it landed, but the sound of the box hitting the wall poured into the hole in her heart. It didn't fill her fully, but the splash of satisfaction that it brought her helped to take a little bit of the edge off of the anger that had replaced her sadness.

It was only for a moment though.

More than likely the gift that her father had bought her was now damaged in some way. But her concern for the inanimate object didn't last for long as the overwhelming silence filled the room.

As the seconds ticked by, the heavier and heavier the air became. It weighed so heavily on her chest that it became hard for her to breathe. And almost impossible for her to swallow around the knot that had lodged itself in her throat.

She tried one last time, vainly, to stem the onslaught of tears. But no matter how hard she tried anymore, she couldn't stop them. Like acid rain, they fell from her eyes and eroded at her carefully constructed mask until it finally crumbled and left her sobbing into her pillow.

As with countless nights before, Chloe cried herself to sleep.

* * *

A/N: Thank you so much for reading! Also thanks to all of you who have left reviews. I've read all of them and they really mean the world to me. A special thanks to my beta. She keeps pushing me to write better and better and hasn't been letting me settle for 'good enough'.

This was bit tougher to write and edit so I hope you guys will let me know how it went! See you guys again soon!

(Also you may have noticed that this fic now has a cover! That's all thansk to deusbex over on tumblr who surprised me with it! It looks so nice and I love it so much!)


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

 _i found gold in the wreckage, put it on a necklace; keepin' it cause i… i know that it's mine_

* * *

Chloe didn't know at what point she finally fell asleep, but she found herself waking obnoxiously early the next day. With a groan, she reached to rub the sleep and gunk left in her eyes from last night's tears. Blearily, she looked at her sleek digital alarm clock sitting upon her nightstand. It took her a moment, but soon she registered the 4:14 displayed in bright blue numerals that cut through the darkness.

Having slept nearly twelve hours, she was shocked. There were times when she had slept in on days she didn't have school, but she had never in her whole life slept as much as she had today. Yet, as the darkness of the room registered in her mind, all she wanted to do was go back to sleep. With another groan, Chloe flopped back down and attempted to force sleep upon herself, but as she valiantly attempted the task, it appeared as though her body had enough of resting.

She opened her eyes and took in the muted details of her ceiling barely illuminated by the lights of the city streaming through the windows. Rolling over, she stared at the alarm clock and watched as the time ticked by. After five minutes passed without any luck on her part, Chloe let out an annoyed sigh and flipped a nondescript switch on the wall. The lights on either side of her bed flickered on.

The sudden light made her blink at the early morning darkness that permeated her room. One hand went to protect her unused eyes as she focused on adjusting to the new light. She sat up and stayed still for a moment before she stood to make her bed. Most days she would leave the chore to her servants, but because she knew that she had a lot of time to kill this morning, she went about the task ignoring her usual routine. As Chloe turned around, she reached for her comforter to pull it back and paused.

Above her unused pillow hovered a very large bee.

Thinking herself still sleeping, Chloe closed her eyes and pinched herself as hard as she could on her arm. From the amount of pain that spiked from the pinch she ascertained that she was, in fact, awake. Perhaps she had simply remembered something from a dream that she had the night prior…?

She took a deep breath and released it. That's what it had to be. Just a remnant of a stressful dream. In fact, it had to have been part of a nightmare because, who in their right mind would have visions of a big floating bee in their bedroom and think it's anything anything else?

Chloe reached up and vigorously rubbed at her eyes to clear any possible remnants of the sleep from her eyes and the dreams from her mind. When she opened her eyes again she would simply see her slightly messy bed that she would make before watching more of that superhero show that she had been streaming lately. All she had to do was take a peek and—

"Good morning, Chloe!"

Chloe let out one of the loudest screeches that the hotel ever had the misfortune of hearing as she fell to the ground. Not only was the bee _still there_ , it had _spoken to her!_

"Oh, dear," the bee-like _thing_ said as it flew down to be closer to the flailing girl on the floor. "I know this must be really startling, but don't be scared, Chloe! I'm—"

"Daddy!" Chloe cried loudly as she scrambled to run into the other room. She wasn't sure if the bee was following her or not, but she knew that, whatever it was, her Daddy would do his best to get rid of it. All she had to do was get to her phone and he'd send someone up to take care of the pest.

Chloe made a mad dash to the foyer where her purse laid precariously on the table. Sliding across her marble floors she triggered the motion activated lights and came to a clumsy stop, nearly sending the ever-present vase in the center crashing to the floor. With fumbling fingers it took her a few tries to unzip her purse, but by the third try, she was able to open it. She pulled out her phone and pressed the button to turn on the screen, but felt cold dread settle in her stomach when an icon of an empty battery displayed.

If she could just make a break for her door then—

"Wait, Chloe, I can explain!" the high-pitched voice, which seemed to be feminine in cadence, called from the direction of her bedroom.

Chloe glanced up and found the bee was carrying the, now broken, box that she had found on the nightstand the night prior. The hinge on one side was twisted and left the contents bare for her to see. Inside was a somewhat nondescript golden hair comb with a large flat bee on the top. And, though the bee was not detailed in anyway, it drew her attention easily.

"If you," the bee said with some strain as she hefted the box a bit before she came closer to Chloe, "if you would just give me the chance to explain I swear that you won't regret it."

Chloe stared down the large bee for a few moments. The initial shock of seeing such a strange being in her room was starting to wear off into one of annoyance. She was becoming tired of these odd occurrences happening in her life over and over again. Crossing her arms, she stared down the bee before speaking, "You have about one minute to explain before I go and get my Daddy to start exterminating you. So start talking."

"Oh, there won't be any need for an exterminator!" The bee sighed in relief as she came closer and turned the twisted box to more properly display its contents. "I'm sorry, usually these things go a bit smoother. My name is Lyssa and I'm what's called a kwami. It's nice to meet you!" Lyssa shifted the box to the other arm, causing her to drift a bit lower in the air before she recovered enough altitude to extend her small arm towards Chloe.

She was met with an icy stare.

"Ah," she said as she allowed her arm to return to holding the box, "I suppose I should explain more. I am the keeper of the Bee Miraculous and I—"

"Did you say Miraculous?" Chloe, in an attempt to remain aloof, kept her arms crossed, but it was obvious that the term had piqued her attention regardless.

"You're familiar with the term Miraculous?" The kwami asked curiously as Chloe let out a scoff.

"Of course I am. They're those pieces of jewelry that Hawk Moth goes on and on about wanting to get from Ladybug and Chat Noir so that he can fulfill his evil plan or whatever. Everyone in Paris knows about them!"

Lyssa paused and tilted her head to regard Chloe causing her antennae to bob. Chloe's face then screwed up in confusion as she considered the kwami before her. "No one's mentioned kwamis before so how do I know that you're not some ploy that Hawk Moth is using to get to Ladybug?"

"There are many things that you don't know yet," Lyssa said cryptically. Chloe cocked an eyebrow at the before Lyssa hastily continued. "But, that doesn't matter right now! What matters is that you were chosen to be the wielder of the Bee Miraculous because Ladybug and Chat Noir will be needing your assistance in the immediate future." Lyssa looked at the girl so earnestly that there was only one way Chloe could react in that moment.

She laughed.

"You have _got_ to be kidding me," she spoke through her loud laughter. "I knew that Adrien had a terrible sense of humor, but this has to be one of _the worst_ pranks he has ever gone through with!" That had to be the explanation for all of this. It was just an elaborate prank based off of the many animated shows that he had been obsessed with for _years._ Her laughter continued as she looked around for cameras as evidence of his prank. Though in her initial look around she couldn't seem to pinpoint any…

"Chloe," Lyssa said carefully as she floated closer. "This isn't a prank. You were chosen especially to be an ally to Ladybug and Chat Noir. You're going to be—"

"Be what? A superhero?" Chloe snorted as she strode past the kwami and went back in the direction of her room to search for her charger. As soon as the phone had enough charge she would call Adrien and tear into him for this terrible prank. She knew that he liked to joke around, but this was too low. Much lower than his usually subpar humor.

"Yes!" Lyssa said as she did her best to quickly follow her chosen. "That's exactly it! While wearing the bee comb all you have to do is say the magic words and then you'll transform and become a hero just like Ladybug and Chat Noir!"

Chloe stopped short of where her charger was plugged into the wall beside her vanity. Her heart was beating fast and she could hear it loudly in her ears.

Ever since she had been a little girl, she had dreamed of becoming a hero. To be able to fight evil in the name of Paris and be recognized for her good deeds… It was a feeling that she had longed to have thrusted upon her as all of the heroes she had grown up with had before her.

And then, at the beginning of the previous school year, Ladybug had shown up. And all of a sudden, her old dreams had sprung up anew. It had taken her by surprise when, instead of thoughts of her future career paths that her father had spoken to her at length, she was again imagining herself being recognized as a hero and being allowed to roam the streets as she saved her city from evil.

Sabrina had been a good sport about it. It had been somewhat embarrassing to admit it to the girl, but she had accepted that dream wholeheartedly. In fact, she had even allowed her to play out her fantasies by role playing with her as Paris' dynamic duo. She was sure that the other girl didn't know how much that really meant to her, though by the understanding way she had allowed Chloe to take the role of Ladybug every time… she wouldn't be surprised if the redhead did in fact know that.

So, for someone to come to her and dangle the idea of becoming a superhero right before her eyes, it was almost too much. Because, while it was tempting, there was no way that any of this could actually be real. Like all of the good possibilities in her life, it had to be too good to be true.

Because there was no way that she'd ever be good enough to stand beside Ladybug.

"I think you have the wrong person," Chloe said in a low voice thick with emotion as she reached forward to connect her phone to its power source. She let the sound of her phone being roughly placed on her vanity table serve as her dismissal of the kwami. Without taking another glance at Lyssa, she went her bathroom and slammed the door behind her.

* * *

It was about an hour later when Chloe finally emerged from the bathroom.

While she had been in there, she had made sure to waste as much time as she possibly could. She drew herself an exceptionally hot bath and primped herself with as many products as she had at her disposal. Throughout her pampering, she had done her best to clear her mind by drowning out her thoughts in loud music that came from the speakers built into the walls. But, as she quickly found, that was easier said than done.

Because teasing her about her childhood dreams went too far. While Sabrina entertained the idea, she never made fun of her. In fact she encouraged her dream while also keeping her grounded and reminding Chloe that she was, indeed, only human.

Whoever orchestrated this prank had to be cruel. Because this wasn't simply making fun of her for a childish dream, oh no, this was taking it to a whole new level. They were dangling the idea of becoming an _actual_ superhero in front of her face with the intent to snatch it away at the last second.

But, the worst part of it all?

Chloe wanted the prank to be real. There was a nagging part of her that couldn't give up the possibility of becoming a superhero like Ladybug. No matter how loud the music, there was a small voice that whispered both hope and doubt in her ear. It told her that no one could orchestrate such an elaborate plan and that it was a genuine offer And, that if the offer had actually been genuine…

Then she had just made the worst mistake in her entire life.

When Chloe finally opened the door she braced herself for the disappointment that would accompany the realization that she was, in fact, alone in her room. As her gaze roved her room she found that it was how she had left it. Her room wasn't much lighter, the sun having yet to show itself, and much of it still immaculate from the maids' work the day before.

As she continued to assess her room, she stopped short when she found Lyssa and the box sitting atop her ladybug plush on her still unmade bed. Her heart caught in her throat as she watched Lyssa turn from where she had been staring at the bared Miraculous and looked up at Chloe. Her eyes, though they were inhuman, seemed to hold understanding and remorse.

Chloe could only look for so long. She could feel her emotions mounting and it wouldn't do to let this being see her be overwhelmed. So without a word, Chloe hastily broke eye contact and went to her closet in search of something to wear without saying a word.

She took a few deep breaths as the reality of the situation began to settle on her. The possibility of this being a legitimate deal was growing higher and higher by the moment. Unless this prank was far more elaborate than she had first anticipated, there was no reason for someone to string her along past the initial shock.

Most pranks, especially ones that were recorded, only focused on a person's reaction. The audience would only want to 'see her face,' laugh, and then move on. So, if neither the kwami nor the miraculous had disappeared then it was highly probable that this was, in fact, not a prank.

Chloe poked her head out to make sure that Lyssa was still there. She was met with an expectant, yet patient, kwami looking back at her. She had not moved beyond facing Chloe except to begin floating above the plushie. When their eyes met, Lyssa tentatively waved and smiled at her.

Chloe immediately dove back into the closet.

She could hear a muffled giggle from the other room and she let out a scoff. Chloe and Lyssa would need to have a very important discussion about manners. Who in their right mind barges into someone else's home, tells them that they need to change their lifestyle, and then _laughs_ at them?

Chloe had half a mind to leave the closet and tell Lyssa to pack up her little box and leave. She was a busy girl! Between school, activities, and public functions there was no feasible way for her to run off to save the day. And besides—

She didn't really deserve to be a superhero.

Chloe knew, more than anyone else, how mean she was compared to all of the other students. And on top of that she'd caused more than a handful of akuma at this point in time. Wouldn't that discredit her from the possibility of becoming a superhero?

Chloe felt some of the fight leave her as her shoulders dropped. If she were to be completely honest with herself, she could think of a lot of people who deserved a chance like this more than she did. Adrien, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Alya, Sabrina… Almost anyone would be more deserving than her to become a hero.

Chloe shook her head vigorously. No, it didn't matter. She was being presented with an opportunity here. And, if her life around politics had taught her anything, it was that she couldn't afford to miss them because they often only came around once.

So what if she supposedly didn't deserve a chance like this? It was likely that Lyssa didn't know anything about that. If she did, then surely she would have gone to someone else. She should seize this chance while she had it. She hadn't ever really been one to hesitate so what was holding her back now?

With a huff Chloe turned around and took out a pair of black boots. Stuffing her feet inside, she fumbled with the ties until they were as perfect as she could make them. Without allowing herself anymore thoughts, she strode through the entrance of the closet and leaned against the doorjamb. She did her best to put on a calm but expectant look on her face.

"Well," she said impatiently. She was slightly out of breath, and her heart was beating wildly, but she pressed through the uncomfortable feelings that wanted to assert themselves. It wouldn't do to let on to Lyssa how flustered and nervous she truly was. "What are you waiting for? Aren't you going to explain more about how this whole superhero thing works?" Lyssa's eyes immediately lit up as she excitedly hovered above back and forth above Chloe's bed.

"Of course!" She said brightly with a smile on her face and her hands clasping together. "I was just giving you a chance to get used to the idea is all." Chloe rolled her eyes at the kwami's excitement, but didn't move to interrupt her. "First of all: you need to know that you can't tell _anyone_ about me or the miraculous. If you did then your secret identity would be compromised and all sorts of bad things could happen."

"Well, _duh_. Anyone who knows anything about superheroes knows that you have to keep things like this a secret. I might be new, but I'm not _dumb._ "

"Of course you aren't!" Lyssa said as her smile broadened. "You wouldn't have been chosen if you weren't smart." Chloe pinked at the compliment. Lyssa continued. "Secondly, you need to wear the miraculous at all times. It would be absolutely horrible if someone else got ahold of it. And, this is another important part, you have to be wearing the miraculous in order to transform."

Chloe push where the miraculous lay in the mangled box. It sat in a velvet bed and gleamed in the golden light of her room. She recognized it to be a hair comb and considered where she should wear it. She wasn't known for changing up her hairstyle very often. And, while, she might be rich, that didn't mean she cared to put effort into _every_ part of her appearance.

She picked it up and turned it over in her hands. Chloe had only worn a few hair combs and most of them had been put in her hair by either servants or her mother when she was younger. She strode over to her vanity and assessed her hair. It was possible that she could place it anywhere on her head, but if she were to put it somewhere overtly noticeable then she might get too many questions. After a few moments, Chloe decided on the most obvious of places: in her ponytail. Most of the people that she had met couldn't find an elephant in a room until it crushed them. She would have nothing to fear by arranging it there.

Once it was in place, Chloe looked up and found Lyssa floating above her shoulder in the mirror. It was odd to see the small being there, but Lyssa's nod of approval and the smile on her tiny face sparked a feeling inside of her. She couldn't quite place what it was, but she appreciated the warmth it brought her nonetheless.

"It looks beautiful, Chloe," Lyssa said gently before floating to look at her directly. The kwami nodded once before she returned to the business at hand. "Now, tell me, how much do you know about how to deal with Akumas?"

"Well," Chloe began, "Ladybug and Chat Noir have to find the item that the akuma is in, destroy it, and then Ladybug has to purify it. That's all, correct?"

"Correct! Now, your role as a miraculous user is mainly focused on cooperation. It's your job to help both of them as best as you can in order to take care of the Akuma that show up. And, hopefully with your help, the three of you will be able to eventually take care of Hawk Moth.

"As a kwami, I act as the catalyst for your powers. Once you say the magic words I unlock the miraculous' power for you and transform you. You cannot tap into the miraculous on your own, though, so that means that I have to be around you all of the time in order for you to transform." Chloe blanched at the prospect of losing her privacy and made a disgusted face at the Kwami.

"And just where am I supposed to keep you? In my purse?"

Lyssa's eyes lit up. "That's the perfect place! That way I won't get in your way _and_ we won't have to worry about anyone seeing me!"

Chloe sighed as she looked to where her purse lay. She didn't exactly carry a lot on a regular basis, but she also wasn't perpetually attached to her purse like most other girls. So the idea of having to carry it all of the time didn't exactly appeal to her. But, she supposed, some sacrifices would have to be made to be a superhero.

"Do I have to like feed you, too?"

"Yes. I require fruit to recharge."

"You're a bee," Chloe said flatly as she arched her eyebrow as gave her a dubious look. "And bees eat honey."

Lyssa made her own disgusted face. "Honey is… not something I enjoy eating."

"Fruit is messy though," Chloe complained. "Can't you eat anything else?"

"Not really," Lyssa said as she smiled sheepishly. "And I'd suggest carrying some with you, too in case of an emergency."

Chloe's mouth gaped as she shot the kwami an incredulous look that clearly stated that she couldn't quite believe that she'd be expected to do something so ridiculous. Lyssa simply shrugged and didn't say any more. Chloe let out an annoyed sigh as she brought her hand to her face. She attempted to consider all of the damage that would be done to her favorite purse and, potentially, her clothes as well.

Perhaps she would have to make more sacrifices than she had originally thought.

"Ladybug and Chat Noir have weapons and special powers," Chloe began as she tried to put the idea out of her head, "What will mine be?" Chloe asked as she made her way over to her vanity and picked up her phone. With a sigh, she put her phone down in favor of her makeup. Lyssa moved to float beside the mirror as Chloe applied her cosmetics. Lyssa stayed silent for some minutes in a state of contemplation as Chloe went about her usual routine before she finally spoke.

"I haven't quite decided yet."

Chloe's attention whipped sharply from herself in the mirror to Lyssa. She wrenched her makeup sponge from her face and gave her an incredulous look. "What do you mean you don't know yet? Aren't you supposed to know these things?"

"Well, each generation of heroes is different and unique," Lyssa said in a placating manner as she brought her hands up in front of herself. "And, since I have the time to contemplate it, I intend to take advantage of said time in order to figure out what would be the best for you." Lyssa then began floating around Chloe as she brought a hand up to her chin to inspect her chosen. Chloe was somewhat unnerved by the intense attention, and instead resumed her handiwork.

Lyssa made a considering noise as she circled around her. Chloe could hear a faint buzzing sound as she came close to one of her ears, but did her best not to flinch. After a few more moments, Lyssa asked, "Can you tell me what weapons Ladybug and Chat Noir have currently?"

"Ladybug has a yo-yo and Chat Noir has some weird staff thing."

Lyssa let out a tinkling laugh as she came back to float in Chloe's field of vision. "Their kwamis have really outdone themselves this time! I'll be sure to give you something equally as cool. As for the powers, I imagine that they are the same as always? Ladybug uses Lucky Charm and Chat Noir uses Cataclysm?"

Chloe nodded. "Alright then," Lyssa continued, "I'll use the same as I always do as well. Your power is called Recharge. While Lucky Charm is used to create and Cataclysm is used to destroy, Recharge is used to renew and reinforce your allies. When you call out Recharge, I'll give you a food item that corresponds to one of them. You'll then need to pour that item over them so that their kwami can absorb that energy. It will only take a few seconds to reach their kwami and, when that happens, Ladybug and Chat Noir will be able to use their special power one more time, and their time will reset.

"However, there are some important things to keep in mind. Once you have used your power, your own timer will then begin to count down. And, unfortunately, I can only recharge one kwami at a time. Should both of your teammates use their powers, I and the other kwami will need to regain our power the old-fashioned way: with food. Because of this you will need to plan carefully."

"Alright," Chloe said. Her mind was, in fact, spinning from all of the new information, but she did her best to not let Lyssa know as much. As always, she held herself up with as much poise as she could muster and resumed applying her makeup. "Seems simple enough."

A silence fell between them as she went over the information in her mind. As she did, a thought occurred to her and she briefly glanced at Lyssa before speaking. "You mentioned that I had to use some magic words to transform… what are they?"

"Stripes across!" Lyssa smiled brightly at what she _obviously_ thought to be a clever catchphrase. Chloe stared at her for a long moment seemingly expecting the other to drop a punchline or to say that she was merely joking before telling her the actual phrase that she had to use. When Lyssa did no such thing, She let out a haughty laugh.

"That has to be one of _the most_ cliché phrases I've ever heard! And, trust me, I've heard some really bad ones." She truly had. When she was younger, she and Adrien's mothers would tell them to go play while the women bonded. If they were at her home that led to them playing house or with her dolls. If they were at Adrien's house, however, that led to them watching all sorts of shows that involved far more reading than Chloe liked. One of them included a weird Japanese Power Rangers-esque show that was built on terrible catch phrases. She was pretty sure that Adrien still had those tapes somewhere as well as the action figures that he'd begged his parents to import straight from Japan.

Lyssa, clearly offended, crossed her tiny arms over her fuzzy chest and let out an annoyed huff as she turned away from Chloe. "I'll have you know that the phrase is _far_ more original than what other super heroes use!"

"Yeah, sure." Chloe tried her best to keep her amusement under wraps. No way she was letting this random being she had just met today see her laugh in an embarrassing manner. In an attempt to maintain her poise, she pretended to not pay Lyssa any mind by putting the finishing touches on her makeup. But Lyssa could easily see a distinct twitch in the girl's lips as she attempted to fight off the urge to smile.

With a snap of her wrist, Chloe closed the compact and placed it on the counter of her vanity. She assessed her work in the mirror for flaws, but she found that there were, in fact, no corrections she needed to make. With a smirk and a flick of her hair, she turned to her phone and pressed its home button to see what time it was.

When the screen turned from black to an intricate design, Chloe found that she still had more than two hours before she needed to be at school. She had never had this much free time, and she wasn't exactly sure what she should do. Sure there were some homework assignments that she could be working on, but she barely entertained that idea.

As she took one more unnecessary look at herself in the mirror, her eyes caught on the comb in her hair. A few butterflies began to flutter in her stomach as an idea began to half form in her mind. Perhaps—

"Now," Lyssa began again as she floated into Chloe's line of sight, effectively blocking most of her view, "there isn't any rush in this. In fact, we don't want to preemptively show ourselves."

"Well that's no fun," Chloe scoffed as she spied the comb needed to kill time and she now had the perfect way to kill two birds with one stone.

"It may not be fun, but we have a distinct advantage right now," Lyssa began to drone on as Chloe stood. The girl only half listened to the words as Lyssa continued. " As of right now Hawk Moth believes that there are only Ladybug and Chat Noir to be worried about. And, if we're able to keep it that way for a while, we'll be able to more effectively help Ladybug and Chat Noir when things start to look dire."

"That sounds like a dumb plan." Chloe strode over to her purse. She slung it over her shoulder and adjusted it so that it lay comfortably on her shoulder. As she moved into her bedroom she gave Lyssa a pointed look. "That's only a good plan if I'm like some super experienced person."

"I'm sure that when the time comes—"

"Look." Chloe was quickly becoming impatient, and she made that abundantly clear as she snapped. "I get it. You've been doing this for a while, or whatever, but I'm pretty sure that Ladybug isn't going to just trust me to help when that 'time comes.' Especially after that whole Volpina thing." She made quotation marks in the air before putting both of her fists on her hips. "And, besides, I won't be of much help if I don't even know how to do anything." Chloe smirked as it became apparent that she had a very good point.

"I suppose you have a few good points," Lyssa conceded with an annoyed sigh. "But, still, we should be discrete for now. That means no transforming during the day and no engaging with citizens." Chloe glanced outside and noted that, while the sky was quite a bit lighter than when she had first woke up , it was still a ways off from sunrise.

"I guess that makes sense," Chloe said distractedly as she looked back at her phone again. She still had a decent amount of time before her butler would come into her room with her breakfast. She heard a resigned sigh from beside her and nearly jumped when she realized that Lyssa was now less than a foot away from her face.

"I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised that you'd want to transform right away," Lyssa said with a fond smile on her face. "Just make sure you're back before you need to go to school and don't be too reckless."

Chloe wasn't usually one to ask permission from anyone to do what she wanted, but there was a part of her that was put at ease by Lyssa giving it to her unbidden. She didn't exactly know how all of this worked yet, but she had a feeling that she could force Lyssa to transform her even if she didn't want her to do so.

Though she didn't remember it clearly, she still knew how horrible it felt to surrender most of her free will to someone else. Looking back, it made her feel almost… violated for lack of a better term. She shivered as the patchy memories flashing through her mind sent a spike of unease down her spine. Thinking about it still made her skin crawl in a very unpleasant manner. And, while she still liked to get her way, she didn't want to do so by using whatever magic it was that she now possessed to literally force someone else to bend to her will.

That wouldn't be right.

* * *

A/N: Thank you so much for reading! This is one of those scenes that I've been looking forward to since the beginning. I won't speak too much here about it, I like works to speak for themselves, but there's just something about the power of spite that can push one to write. ;)

Special thanks to my beta teaaddictedghosthunt who, as always, helps keep me from going too insane! XD Really don't know where this story would be without her help. Also thank you all so much for your warm responses here! You all are so wonderful and help to fan the flames of this story so that it endures much longer than the spark would alone.

As always, please let me know what you think! There's a lot in this chapter that I'd love to hear your opinions and thoughts on anything and everything either in a review here or over on my tumblr! Hope your weeks go well and I look forward to sharing the next chapter with you in two weeks!

[Edit 8/13/17: Had to fix Recharge. When I was writing this originally I didn't realize how weak I had made it. Hope this explanation makes sense!]


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

 _that's how a superhero learns to fly..._

* * *

To say that Chloe wasn't nervous would have been a lie.

She closed her eyes in an attempt to quell her nerves. She could feel them causing butterflies to swell in her stomach. But there was no way Chloe Bourgeois was going to let something as fleeting as fear stop her.

This was a dream come true, and there was no way that she was going to let anything get in her way.

All it took was a deep breath and then everything went quiet inside of her. Her resolve hardening instantly, her eyes flashed open to find Lyssa. Raising her head as high as her own pride would allow her, Chloe shouted the words 'Stripes across!'.

Lyssa smiled at her. A distinct electrical sound crackled in her ear as the air charged around her. The next thing that Chloe knew, Lyssa was streaking up towards the top of her head and into the Bee Miraculous. Chloe felt — _and saw—_ a shower of golden sparks fall from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. As they passed harmlessly over her, an odd sort of energy and strength she'd never possessed before welled within her. And, when they dissipated, she found someone new standing in her place.

With a giddiness like that of a young child's, Chloe ran to stand before her mirror. In it she found a young woman, about her height, clad in a black and yellow jumpsuit. She had worn a jumpsuit while akumatized, but the young woman standing in the mirror looked nothing like that.

Her eyes traveled the length of that woman's body and took in the yellow suit. It looked as though her legs were clad in thigh-high leggings that tapered into a point mid-thigh. Just above that point were two stripes that mirrored the point to make them appear as though they were chevrons. On her hip was something that looked to be like a purse with a black honeycomb pattern with a white and yellow flower in the center.

Both of her arms were encased in black to mimic that of gloves with the same patterning as on her legs. The bodice of the suit had two matching stripes below a jagged stripe of black that seemed to mimic a strapless bikini top that covered her chest. Above that, the suit seamlessly covered her neck as high as was possible.

As her eyes moved up she found a rather simple black mask with yellow outline. On top of the woman's head she easily found the Bee Miraculous standing proudly over the crown of her head. And, while her hair was pulled into its normal ponytail, it was now styled and curled in a way that she had never worn it before.

Leaning closer to the mirror she found that, while transformed, the miraculous was far more detailed than it had been in the box earlier. Instead of the plain gold design, she could see that the body of the bee had alternating black and yellow stripes. The head was black and there were doubled white wings on either side of it spread wide. One of her hands went up to touch it and, as it traveled up, she found two black ribbons that seemed to mimic antennae coming from where the miraculous stood curled and standing tall. As her arm moved she felt an odd tugging on her back and came to a startling realization.

She had wings.

Chloe's eyes widened as she pulled away from the mirror and twisted herself in an attempt to see them. No matter how far she turned she couldn't get a good look at them. She reached around herself and felt them. She discovered that she could not, in fact, feel anything from them when her gloved hands touched them, but there was no denying that they were, in fact, there.

As her hand came away from her wings, Chloe felt the purse-like device on her hip shift. Upon further examination she found that it was not actually a purse. There was no zipper, but it was as thick as one.

She ran her hands quizzically over the surface of it and when one of her fingers touched the center of the white flower, the yellow center glowed slightly. In the next moment the string around her waist retracted quickly into itself and the black hexagons rearranged into a v-shape with the flower at the juncture with only one black cell at the tip. She nearly dropped the new object, but caught it at the last second.

If she were to make an assumption, it would be that this was supposed to be her weapon. But, for the life of her, she couldn't figure out what it was supposed to be. She turned it around in her hands a few times before she got the urge to throw it.

She wasn't exactly sure where it came from. As a respectable aristocrat she wouldn't normally haphazardly throw something without provocation, but this felt different. Deciding to ignore her upbringing, Chloe impulsively threw the item towards the open foyer of her room.

A moment later, she remembered the vase in the middle of the room and panicked. Breaking something at this time in the morning would surely draw attention from someone. Chloe let out a small cry of dismay and reached her arm forward. If only there were a way for her to recall—

Chloe watched in amazement as the item whizzed around the vase, barely clipping a few of the flowers before it arced around it in a tight half-circle before it came barreling back towards her. She let out a yelp of surprise and put up a hand to block it from hitting her face. She was pleasantly surprised when it gently tapped that hand instead and slowly began to descend. She deftly caught it before it could fall far.

She reappraised the weapon in her hands. The way it had moved made it almost appear as though it was a boomerang of sorts. She had only seen a few, most of them odd gifts to her father from Australian diplomats, and while it was quite pointer than the ones she'd seen, it seemed to move in the same way.

Chloe was tempted to throw it again, but a glance at her alarm clock told her that she needed to head out quickly if she were to fully enjoy her experience. Pressing the yellow hexagon again, she watched as it returned to its initial shape. A golden strand then extended in order to allow it to hang securely around her waist. Once she was certain that the weapon wasn't going to move or change any further, Chloe quickly made her way to her balcony.

She wasn't sure exactly how to make the wings on her back work. But, after a moment of concentration, she felt the air stir around her as a soft buzzing began to start. And then, without any warning, she was no longer standing. Chloe let out a squeak of surprise. She felt herself sway back and forth about an inch off of the ground as a constant breeze at her back sent her hair whipping around her.

It felt as though she had left her stomach on the balcony as she watched the ground below her slowly drift further and further away. She couldn't take her eyes off of the shrinking hotel . She was much higher in the air than she had ever been without the protection of an airplane and it was, to say the least, unnerving.

Chloe was at least three stories above her father's hotel when her ascent finally stopped. The buzzing at her back continued, but the she found herself not paying it any mind as her eyes were drawn to the city and her breath left her at the sight that met them.

It was something that she could never imagine giving up willingly.

Nor ever forgetting.

* * *

Chloe cut it close when she finally returned to her room.

For the most part, Chloe made a point to stay out of sight as much as possible, but she couldn't help touching down a few places to simply say that she had been there. It was somewhat disorientating to navigate the city from above. It took a while to learn how to do so without the need to follow any of the major streets, but she was able to get the hang of it eventually. She simply used all of the major landmarks around her to keep track of her location.

It wasn't until she was leaving the Eiffel Tower, one of the best places to watch the sunrise in her opinion, that she spied the time. It was displayed plainly on the Musee d'Orsay's clock face. She had been sure that she had plenty of time to drink in the sights of the city before her butler came to her room bearing her breakfast.

But, time meant absolutely nothing to her when she floated high above her city.

Her heart immediately took a short break when she realized that she needed to be home _now_ or else face the very real possibility of her father sending a search party to find her. Though her father gave her a significant amount of independence for her age and status, he wasn't above taking away her freedom for a time in order to ensure that she understood how much her safety mattered to him. And, though it would be endearing to an outsider, Chloe couldn't risk it.

Once the fact that she was late set in, her heart redoubled its speed and she immediately took off as fast as her wings could carry her. She didn't think twice about keeping herself hidden this time. Instead she honed in on the familiar outline of Le Grand Paris Hotel near the heart of Paris. What had been a speck in the distance quickly grew until she located her private balcony. It was becoming closer and closer when, suddenly, she spied the door to her room beginning to open. She poured on as much speed as she could and, miraculously, was able to de-transform in a blind corner just as Jacques called out her name as he opened the door.

"Out here!" She responded, slightly out of breath as she caught Lyssa before she crashed onto one of the many sun chairs decorating her balcony. She blindly reached for her purse, and roughly stuffed Lyssa into it. She zipped it closed just as her butler walked through the doors. He gave her a quizzical look and she noticed that he was no longer carrying her usual breakfast tray. It was most likely sitting on the center table. And, as he looked her over with a critical eye, she had a feeling that if she didn't control the conversation from the get-go he would ask too many questions.

"I woke up early and decided to watch the sunrise," she said snippily as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Is that a crime now?" She wasn't sure what he was trying to find, but when his eyes lingered on the new accessory in her hair she felt her control over the conversation slip.

"That's a beautiful hair comb," he said carefully. The fact that he thought to comment on it caused a small trickle of unease, resulting in her shifting in front of him. "I don't remember you wearing it before. Where did you get it?"

Chloe generally liked to keep control over conversations with the brash truth because it was far more reliable than lies. But, as she felt her hold slip completely out of her hands she grasped for a skill that she had refined over the years: lying.

Chloe had learned how to lie at a very young age. And, while it wasn't a skill that her father would be proud that she had picked up, it was a necessity. Most of her days were spent pleasing the public and pandering to politicians, and she had been forced to learn it in order to survive in such a hostile world.

To be honest, it was much easier than many made it out to be. Most would attempt to find the right concoction of the truth in order to make their lies believable. But that wasn't the secret to a good lie. Instead, you merely kept them as simple as possible. This was especially important for those that you needed to create on the spot.

You never knew when you would need to remember them later on.

"Rome, of course." she scoffed with a flick of her hair.

If the lie needed to be more complex, one needed to be sure— but not _too sure_ — about the minute details surrounding the lie. She wasn't one to keep to one-word answers because that often drew too much attention to the lie. This made it harder to remember at times, but it was worth it when she wasn't questioned more thoroughly later on.

"Isn't it pretty? Sabrina and I found it when we were shopping," she went on easily. "I just found it this morning when I was trying to decide on what to wear."

The final, and arguably _the_ most important part to a successful lie, was tactful redirection. Many amateurs would use this as their lie. And while that could work in some instances, if one used redirection too quickly, then too much attention would be brought to the lie. And, in doing so, the lie would be given away far too easily.

"I woke up so early." Chloe complained loudly, "I tried everything to get back to sleep, but I just couldn't." She began to move past her butler as naturally as she could. As she did, she spied her breakfast tray sitting where she had anticipated it to be, but kept moving. "I'm absolutely famished."

"I'm sorry, Miss Chloe," Jacques said as he made room for her to pass. He closed the glass doors before he moved briskly to pick up the tray and follow after her. "If I had known you had awoken earlier I would have had the kitchens prepare your meal sooner."

"It's okay, I suppose," Chloe made her way into her rather large entertainment room with Jacques following closely behind. She turned it on and began to search for the latest television show that she had been watching. She had been reserving it for lonely nights, but she craved the familiarity after the past stress-filled twenty-four hours. He promptly set the tray in front of her favorite seat as she navigated the menu.

"You weren't awake when Marguerite came for your order." His simple explanation was his way of glossing over the fact that he knew she had been too upset the night before to be bothered by anything beyond sleep. "So, I went ahead and took it upon myself to have the cooks make your favorites: Banana Nutella Crepes with a mug of hot chocolate."

Chloe felt a small part of her warm at the gesture.

It was a gesture he often extended after an especially trying was his way of attempting to help her not to dwell and instead move forward with a fresh start the next day. Normally, she wouldn't even acknowledge it. But after such an emotional roller coaster of a morning, she found herself vulnerable.

"T-Thank you," she said as off-handedly as she could muster. "Can you please bring up a cup of fruit as well?"

"Of course Miss Chloe," he said in a note softer than his usual professional cadence. Neither said any more as he left the room. Chloe stared at the menu for a few moments, attempting to collect herself enough to reconstruct her walls.

It wouldn't do for her to break down any further.

Chloe nearly jumped out of her skin as her purse shifted in her lap. She held her breath and waited for the kwami to appear again, but she didn't. When the bag had settled in her lap she opened the show up to where she had left off last time and allowed it to fill the silence of the room.

A few moments passed by and though she could feel the warmth escaping her food and smell the equally warm undertone of hazelnut and bright scent of banana, Chloe decided to only sip on her drink as she waited. Both of her parents as well as her manners coach had taught her to wait until all guests had been served. She wasn't so far gone as to forget her manners.

In the meantime, Chloe tried her best to pay attention to the show. Unfortunately, she was unable to focus much on it. She was hyper aware of Lyssa's presence and all she could glean was that the heroine was working on her cooking skills.

Before long though, her butler returned. He placed the fruit beside her untouched crepes and was about to leave when Chloe stopped him.

"Make sure to bring me a bowl of fruit every day from now on, no matter what I order. Also, see if you can get a bag of dried fruit by the time I leave for school. I've been in need of a snack to get me through classes as of late. I fear that if I don't I may pass out during one of my many boring lectures."

"Understood. I will do so immediately and make sure that they are left in the limousine for you. The car should be ready shortly." He bowed slightly before leaving.

As soon as the door clicked closed, Lyssa poked her head out and flew out of her hiding place. She eagerly regarded the mixed fruit that had been provided to her. She went to reach for it but paused to look at her chosen in silent askance. Chloe simply nodded as she set her mug down and picked up her fork and knife. She delicately cut off a bite-sized piece and relished in the familiar tastes for a moment before she continued to eat her breakfast.

After she had eaten about half of her breakfast, she noticed Lyssa looking up at her. She had a strawberry halfway to her mouth and fruit juices sticking to her fuzzy body. Chloe was internally calculating how many wet wipes she would need to carry around as well when the kwami tilted her head. She matched her gaze for a few seconds before Lyssa spoke, "So," she began as a mischievous and knowing smile lit up Lyssa's tiny face. "What did you think of everything?"

Chloe paused in the middle of slicing off another bite. She considered her experience and felt her recently created memories come rushing back. She had an inexplicable urge to gush to Lyssa, but she reminded herself that this tiny being was practically a stranger to her. And while she had certainly delivered an amazing experience so far, she wasn't to be completely trusted yet.

She bit her lip in an attempt to contain everything she felt and instead said, "It was okay, I _suppose_."

"Only okay?" Lyssa's teasing tone sent a rush of warmth to Chloe's cheeks. Lyssa's soft laugh made the blush increase exponentially and fill her to the point of bursting. Unaccustomed to the feelings building inside of her, Chloe stabbed the remaining crepe on her plate and hacked a large piece off before stuffing it into her mouth.

Today was going to be a long day.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading! This one's a little shorter compared to the to the others, but oh well! Yet again I'd like to thank you for the wonderful support from all of you. I will have to warn you that I may be a more sporadic with my updates from now on. You see a lot of this was written for National Novel Writing Month (nanowrimo) back in November and has been polished ever since then. Life didn't really let me keep ahead as much as I'd planned, but fear not! A little bit of a delay doesn't mean abandoned. Also a shout out to my beta who is as wonderful as always. No way this would be as well off without her~

Anyways, let me know what you think! And in the meantime you can find me over on tumblr.

Until next time!


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

she's got style, she's got grace, she's a winner

she's a lady

* * *

"Good morning, Chloe! Time to get up!"

Chloe groaned at the annoying voice that dared to disrupt her sleep. Turning she buried her face in her pillow. "Shut up, Lyssa," She was going to kill the kwami one of these days if the little being wasn't careful. There were many valid reasons as to why her servants avoided waking her up, the threat of death being the greatest one.

"Who's Lyssa?"

Chloe's eyes flew open and met eyes that were very humanoid and certainly did not belong to Lyssa. As the fog in her mind cleared it became apparent that the voice belonged to a very confused Sabrina. Who, if her memory served right, had slept over as part of their attempt to have a fun night before the gala.

"A," Chloe cleared her throat, "ah, servant." She sat up and calmly settled herself against her headboard beside Sabrina. "She's been waking me up lately."

"Oh, okay." Sabrina said as she glanced at her phone. "Jacques was wondering what you wanted for brunch."

"Tell him I want an avocado and chicken salad with a side of fruit. Also, I'll have my vanilla latte special."

"Okay!" Sabrina hopped off of the bed and made her way out of the room to find the servant.

Chloe watched her go and waited until she was sure that she was out of sight. Then she cupped her hands and called, "Lyssa?"

She looked around in search of the kwami and was relieved when she flitted out from underneath the pillow. "Good Morning, Chloe! Did you need something?"

"Not really. I just…" She glanced at the doorway for a moment as she trailed off. Today was going to be overly complicated with having to keep Lyssa a secret from Sabrina. Not to mention how bothered she felt keeping such a big secret from her best friend. It had been difficult not to say anything throughout the entirety of their sleepover." Are you sure that I can't tell Sabrina?"

"Chloe," Lyssa said, "We've been over this. You can't tell anyone."

"How will being ignorant keep her safe? Wouldn't that put her in more danger?"

"It may seem like that to you, but there are many dangers in knowing. If she is as loyal of a friend as you say she is, she might try to protect you. And, more importantly, if Hawk Moth thinks that she knows who you are then he might target her specifically."

"I guess, but—"

"Jacques said that he'd be back soon with our food," Sabrina said as she walked into the room. Lyssa dove back into her hiding place the moment that Sabrina spoke. She continued on oblivious to Chloe's sudden heart attack, "We have about an hour before the stylists come. What would you like to do in the meantime?"

"I want to go back to sleep," Chloe groaned and flopped back down onto her pillow. Though she knew that she probably got an adequate amount of sleep for the day, it felt as though she had not slept at all.

"You can't go back to sleep, silly," Sabrina said poking Chloe's side. Chloe let out an indignant squeak and batted the offending hand away. "How about we change into our prep clothes and then watch another movie?"

"We won't be able to finish a movie," Chloe said. She rolled over, stood up, and walked towards her outfit of trendy sweats and loose shirt. "I think that I got a notification about that nail channel uploading a new video, though. We could watch a few of those."

As a connoisseur of fashion, Chloe liked to watch all sorts of makeup and clothing tutorials online. One day, when the two of them wanted to paint their own nails, they had watched tutorial after tutorial in an attempt to get ideas. It wasn't until they had stumbled upon a quirky nail artist who used an ungodly amount of holographic glitter that they finally found the perfect design. Ever since then they tended to watch her new videos on a regular basis.

"Oh! That sounds like fun. I love her videos so much."

"I hope it isn't another one of those clickbait videos. I swear she hasn't posted a proper nail tutorial for almost two months." Sure, the nail artist had nearly taken her nail clean off, but wouldn't it have healed well enough by now?

"I don't know," Sabrina said, "She's so funny. Even the videos that are supposed to be really dumb are some of the funniest that I've ever seen."

"But they aren't even what her channel is supposed to be about!" Chloe waved her hands before crossing them with a huff. "I subscribed because her nail art is good, not because of some dumb challenges." She rolled her eyes and then reached for the hem of her night shirt.

"She'll probably, uh, she'll start m-making more tutorials s-soon I'm, uh, sure."

Chloe knit her eyebrows as she turned around to see why her friend was suddenly so nervous. When their eyes met, Sabrina's immediately darted to her fidgeting hands. Her cheeks burned and she toed the floor in embarrassment. Chloe frowned. She knew that her friend was overly modest, but they'd changed in front of each other all last year, so why was she flustered?

"I hope so," Chloe said. No need to overly complicate the day by addressing it. "I need new nail art designs and I can't wait forever for her to create them." She finished changing as quickly as possible and busied herself with brushing her hair.

"I'll go set up the TV," Chloe said distractedly and left the room. She heard a quiet agreeance from behind her but pretended not to hear it by busing herself with setting up her screen.

It took a while for Sabrina to appear in her own complementing outfit. Her face held no more pink, but she still couldn't quite meet Chloe's eyes as she sat down. She started the video without any comment.

Chloe was eternally grateful when Jacques entered shortly afterwards. His entrance with their breakfast seemed to break Sabrina's tension and allowed the girl to relax into the couch. They ate in a companionable silence punctuated by laughter.

When older video began to automatically play on the screen, Chloe stood.

"I'll be right back," Chloe said, bowl of fruit in hand.

"Where are you going?" Sabrina asked.

"I forgot my phone in the other room." She didn't give Sabrina much of a chance to ask more questions before she was gone. Her eyes scanned around as she walked until she came to a stop before her bed. She picked up her pillows expecting her kwami to be there, but came up with nothing. Out of patience, she hissed out Lyssa's name.

"Yes, Chloe?" Lyssa asked from where she sat in front of the vanity. Her eyes lit up as they found the bowl of fruit and she let out an excited squeak. "You remembered!" She zipped over to Chloe and dove into the bowl without a second thought. Chloe staggered back and nearly dropped the bowl onto the floor, but caught it at the last second.

"Be quiet," she muttered as she adjusted her arm, "Sabrina's still here, remember?"

"Of course I remember!" Lyssa popped out of the pile of fruit sending a grape careening to the floor. Chloe tried to catch it before it could land, but was just a hair short. She began tapping her foot and forced Lyssa to look at her by bringing the bowl close to her face.

"Look, Lyssa, I don't know where you picked up your eating habits, but they need to go. Immediately."

"Sorry," Lyssa said around a mouthful of strawberry. Chloe's eyes narrowed into slits. Lyssa swallowed her food and laughed. "I'll be better about it, I swear."

"Whatever." Chloe brought the bowl away from her face. "You can't eat too much of that, by the way, Sabrina will get suspicious.

"That's fine!" Lyssa said before finishing off another piece of fruit. "This should be enough for now. Though you should carry some dried fruits with you today."

"Why?"

"We never know when Hawk Moth will show up again. If something happens I'll need to recharge."

"That's going to be such an inconvenience," Chloe whined, "My purse is already so small. At this rate I won't be able to carry any of my makeup."

"Chloe, what's more important, your makeup or the safety of Paris?"

"My makeup of course!" Lyssa gave her an unamused look and Chloe deflated immediately. "I know Paris is more important. I'm not dumb." She picked up her phone. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to Sabrina."

"You're excused." Lyssa laughed at the annoyed look Chloe sent her way.

"Whatever," she muttered and walked out. She glanced at her phone as she went and made a note of how little time they had before the stylists would be there.

It was shortly after the two girls finished their meals when Jacques announced that their stylists were ready for them. Sabrina was about to ask who it was when the sound of Chloe's suite doors being flung open dramatically drew their attention.

"Chloe, darling!" A tall lady said as she walked into the room. Her copper hair was as free as her personality and complimented her onyx skin beautifully. She strode up to Chloe, gave each of her cheeks a kiss and hugged her tightly. "It's been so long! You look even more beautiful than I remember you!"

"Hello, Marques, You flatter me as always." Chloe stepped out of her embrace and dismissed the compliment with a wave of her hand. Marques Silveira was one of the most renowned stylists in all of Paris. Many people admired her work, but few could afford it. Even her father struggled to hire her at times, but being maintaining a close friendship helped a lot.

"Nonsense, I only tell the truth." She turned to Sabrina and smiled warmly. "And who do we have here? Is this your date for the gala?"

Sabrina's face flushed. "I-I'm just a friend Mi—"

"Just-a-friend, I will have to insist that you call me Marques. I only allow children under the age of five get away with such formalities. Now surely you have a proper name?"

"S-Sabrina Raincomprix," Sabrina said.

"It's nice to meet you Sabrina. Now ladies, where are we making the magic happen?"

"Over here," Chloe said and led Marques and her assistants to the newly rearranged cinema room. Two tall chairs stood in the center with a table for the equipment that would be needed. Their dresses hung from a garment rack to the side and drew Marques' attention.

"Oh the pictures I received don't do these dresses justice!" She picked up the intricate gold beaded black mermaid dress and brought it over to Chloe. "You're going to kill a lot of people tonight with a dress like this."

"Thank you, Marques."

The woman walked back over to the rack and brought Sabrina's teal lace bodice dress to her. She held it there for a few moments before gesturing for one of her assistants to hold it for her. Sabrina tensed as Marques reached forward and carefully removed her signature headband.

"We'll make sure that more than a few heads turn for you as well, dear. Francisco and Luana, help these ladies into their chairs and prepare their hands and feet. Celest, go to our usual florist and get me baby's breath and a few teal daisies."

Marques snapped her fingers and the room jumped into motion. The girls were ushered to their chairs and the two assistants began to fuss over them. Marques walked over to where her suitcases of materials and rifled through them. "Do either of you girls have any requests?"

"N-not really," Sabrina squeaked out.

"All I ask is that you incorporate this hair comb." Chloe brought the Miraculous out for Marques to see. Marques reached over to inspect it and Chloe tensed as she touched it. She knew that the Miraculous was not in any danger of being stolen, but she could barely suppress the urge to slap Marques' hand away from it.

"It certainly is a beautiful piece of jewelry," Marques said, "But I don't believe that it will match your dress very well. Besides that, it's such a dull sheen that it won't stand out in your hair at all. "

"Yes, well it's important that I wear it tonight." Chloe crossed her arms and legs nearly hitting Francisco in the process. The two headstrong women stared at each other for a long moment before Marques eventually gave in.

"I will do my best, darling," Marques said with a tired smile. She reached for the comb again, but Chloe was quick to close her fingers around it. Marques paused, but shook her head instead of commenting. "Francisco I want a gold glitter gradient on black and Luana a teal glitter gradient on black."

"Yes, Marques," the assistants chorused as they began their work in earnest. "Sabrina, dear, I hope it's alright that I start with Chloe's hair first. I should be done by the time that Celest is back."

"That's okay," Sabrina said.

"Good, good."

For the next half hour, Marques made small talk with the girls while she curled Chloe's hair. Chloe described their time in the Mediterranean and Marques told them of her adventures visiting her family in Brazil. She pinned the blonde curls into a high ponytail and, though she still had reservations about the styling, placed the comb on the crown of Chloe's head.

Marques walked around Chloe to evaluate her work. She brought her hand up to her chin and hummed as her critical eyes went from Chloe's face to the intricate high ponytail. Her eyes caught on the comb and it looked as though she was still torn about its placement, but eventually Marques shook her head and clapped twice.

Francisco stopped his work in an instant and began spraying her hair with Marques' special hair spray that would prevent her hair from being ruined throughout the night 'unless she wanted it to be' as her slogan boasted. Meanwhile Marques walked over behind Sabrina and picked up a different curling iron and began prepping it.

"While I still think that something flashier would go better with your dress, the comb does look beautiful." Marques moved to Sabrina and began to curl her hair as well. "May I ask where you got it?"

"I got it while we were on the cruise."

"I don't remember you getting it on the cruise" Chloe froze at Sabrina's words. When she had refined her cover story for the Miraculous she had forgotten to consider that her friend had been with her almost every moment of the trip. She wracked her brain for a moment when they were apart during the trip.

"I got it… I got it while we were in Rome during our little disagreement. Since it was an impulse buy I just didn't feel like telling you."

"Oh." She could see a hint of incredulity in Sabrina's face, but the conversation was redirected by Marques who wanted to dispel the tension that appeared in Sabrina's shoulders. If Chloe were a person to give lavish displays of affection, she would certainly have kissed the woman for taking the attention away from her lie.

As it stood Chloe merely let out a breath that went unnoticed by everyone save for Francisco who had moved onto her face make up. The man gave her a stern look when her sigh sent a shower of powder all over his clothes. Chloe rolled her eyes and did her best to ignore his muttered grievances.

Chloe much preferred when Marques was the one to apply her make up. While skilled, the man's movements were quite stiff and it was likely that she would need to fix some mistake once he was finished. She would have complained in that moment, but she understood how pressed for time they were and didn't want to risk being late.

It wasn't too much later that Celest slid into the room and came to an abrupt stop beside their employer. Marques, without batting an eyelash, plucked the baby's breath from Celest's grasp and began weaving them into the braid along the base of Sabrina's head that she had just pinned into place. For the finishing touch she pinned the teal daisy into the center and fluffed the loose curls below the braid.

A smile lit up Marques' face as she came around to face Sabrina." Gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous. Luana I'll let you finish up as I inspect Francisco's work." She turned to Chloe and gasped loudly. The poor girl ripped her attention away from her phone where she had been checking the news coverage of the gala to look at Marques. Uncertainty swirled in her stomach for an agonizing moment when her stylist didn't say anything.

"I don't know where the nine-year-old girl going to her first gala went!" Marques brought her hand to her chest as her eyes became glassy. "You've grown far too quickly! You're becoming a young woman who will certainly break far too many hearts tonight!"

Chloe pinked. She could remember her maternal grandmother fawning over her in the same way when she was younger. She hadn't seen her since her mother left, but the familiar flash of embarrassment and flattery made her uncertain of what she should do with herself.

She was grateful when Marques continued. "I simply cannot stand another minute without seeing the two of you in your dresses! Chloe, be a dear and go change first." She pulled Chloe out of her chair and pressed the hanger and bag containing her accessories into her hand. "If you need any help just holler!"

And with that, Marques spun her around and pushed her in the direction of her bedroom. She nearly stumbled, but she was able to recover and continue walking as if nothing had happened. Normally she would have snipped at Marques, but she didn't have the energy.

It was easy to slip into her dress, but Chloe discovered that it was quite difficult for her to manage the zipper in the back. She twisted this way and that in an attempt to pull it higher than halfway up, but despite her best efforts she found the task impossible.

"Stupid thing," she mumbled.

"Need help?" Lyssa asked. Her sudden appearance nearly caused Chloe to shriek and fall over. While she was growing used to her presence, she still found herself surprised whenever she popped out of nowhere. She sent Lyssa a glare and righted herself with a huff.

"And what are you going to do? Use magic?"

"No, silly," Lyssa said with a laugh as she flew around to Chloe's back, "I'll pull it up! Just hold still and I'll get it for you." Chloe wanted to protest, but Lyssa was already pulling the zipper up before the words could form on her lips. Before she really knew what was going on, Lyssa was zipping back around to face her with a smile. "All done!"

"That works, I guess," Chloe said as she slipped on her gold heels. "Help me get this necklace on, too." Lyssa did so without complaint, though how she was able to finagle the chain without dropping it she would never know.

Chloe walked over to her full-length mirror and appraised herself. A moment later Lyssa joined her and smiled at the sight that greeted them.

"You look really pretty, Chloe."

"Of course I do," Chloe said with a smirk.

"Well aren't you confident?" Lyssa laughed. "Is there anything else that you need help with?"

"No." She heard the staccato clicking of heels and rushed over to where her matching purse hung. "Quick get inside, I think Marques might be coming." Lyssa flew in without a word. She could hear voices getting closer and a moment later there was a knock at the door.

"Chloe, dear, do you need help with anything?" Marques asked.

"No, Marques. I just finished."

"Oh, good! I've already helped Sabrina into her dress and shoes. I believe your butler also said that your car should be ready in a few minutes. Before you head out, though, I'm going to need my pictures of you two!" Chloe rolled her eyes but didn't complain when the overly-excited woman opened the door and pulled her towards the foyer.

As they entered the room, her eyes were drawn to Sabrina. The teal of her dress, coupled with Marques' dramatic makeup, made her eyes stand out more than usual. The two locked gazes for a moment before Sabrina's eyes darted away and her hands began to fidget with the skirt of her dress.

Marques laughed a moment later and a dark red flush colored Sabrina's face. She shot the stylist a dirty look but that only served to intensify her tittering. Chloe wasn't sure what was causing Sabrina's odd reaction, but she imagined that it originated from the manhandling Marques was known for. Coupled with the extra attention to her appearance it was no surprise that Sabrina would be embarrassed.

She was modest after all.

"Alright you two!" Marques called as she positioned Chloe next to Sabrina, "I want a few nice, serious, and then silly pictures. I'll make sure to send them to you after the event, sound good?"

"Sure. Whatever you want Marques," Chloe said as she stood up straight and put on one of her signature smiles. It took a bit of encouragement from the stylist, but eventually she coaxed a smile from Sabrina as well. Both girls posed as they were told, though it was nearly impossible to get Sabrina to relax.

It wasn't until they were told to be silly that Chloe, who had nearly had enough at this point, decided to do something about it. Slinging her arm around Sabrina, she pointed a finger gun at the camera, and winked. It was such an obtuse gesture that Sabrina couldn't help but laugh and relax a small degree. She was still quite stiff, but the move had effectively broken her tension enough for her to mirror Chloe's stance and sling her own arm around her friend and send her own wink to the camera.

"Oh girls, I'm sure that you'll have such fun tonight," Marques laughed as she brought the camera down. "Now off you go. Wouldn't want you to be late to such an important date."

"I-It-It's not—" Sabrina spluttered at Marques' own wink.

"I know it's not a date, sweetheart. It's just a simple expression."

"Stop teasing her, Marques." Chloe said with a pointed look. "Come on, Sabrina. Let's get out of here before she decides to make any more jokes in poor taste." Without waiting for either to respond, Chloe dragged her friend out, only pausing long enough for Sabrina to gather her things.

Marques' laughter followed them all of the way to the elevator.

* * *

"Oh, Chloe!" Sabrina breathed as they entered a ballroom that would serve as the gala's location for the evening, "Everything looks so wonderful!"

Chloe had to agree that the event staff had clearly outdone themselves. The large room was lavishly decorated. The various tables had alternating arrangements. While all of the round tables had black tablecloths half of them were adorned with elaborate red rose bouquets with circular black accents while the other half had green rose bouquets and green paw print accents. At the front of the room was a slightly larger table for the guests of honor and was a mix of the other decorations.

Behind the table stood a raised platform where a podium, small table with various supplies, and a projector screen were set up. The fake stage would be where all of the important business would take place that evening. Her father would give a big speech about the heroes, the superheroes would each be awarded with a Honour Medal for Courage and Devotion and then the auctioneer would auction off the donated items and services to the guests, .

"I suppose it'll do," Chloe said offhandedly as her eyes finished their assessment of the room by passing over the standard reception area at the back of the room with its open bar and scattered bar tables. "How long do we have until we need to meet with father?"

"Let me see." Sabrina opened her tablet. "I gave us about a fifteen minute window. We should have plenty of time to find him. Afterwards Ladybug and Chat Noir should be arriving."

"Miss Bourgeois!" One of the event coordinators interrupted. Chloe wrinkled her nose at the woman's clashing black dress and faded orange scarf that washed out her pale skin. In Chloe's opinion the only redeeming quality of the outfit was the elegant spiral pin securing the scarf. "You look absolutely stunning! How are you doing today?"

"I'll be better once I find my father," Chloe said. "Where is he?"

"Oh, he's in a meeting right now with most of the prominent backers of the event. He should be finished any time now. Is there something that I can do for you in the meantime? A drink? I could take your purse for you?"

"I think that I'll be fine on my own." Chloe clutched the strap of her purse. Lyssa had made it quite clear that she should be by her side at all times in case of an emergency and there was no way that she was going to miss her first chance to be a superhero should the need arise. "Where can I wait to meet him?"

"There is a small reception area this way. We have quite a few amenities for all of the important guests in there. I will let you know when your father is free." The lady led them to a hallway to the side of the ballroom. It wasn't long before she chose to make small talk. "By the way, my name is Ariel. If there is anything that the two of you may need this evening please let me know."

"Thank you, Miss Ariel," Sabrina said courteously.

Ariel stopped in front of an open doorway and gestured them through. The room was generously extravagant, though much smaller than what Chloe would have preferred. There were plush couches facing each other with a coffee table between them. A small chandelier hung above the short table. Against the far wall stood a table with a wide variety of snacks and drinks.

"You can go now." Chloe said with a wave of her hand. She sat down on one of the couches and proceeded to ignore her. Ariel hesitated before retrieving two forms from a pile sitting upon an end table by the door.

"Before I do, please fill out these forms. They'll help my staff know about any special requests that you—"

"I said that you can go, Miss Ariel," Chloe snapped. The woman shrank back from the harsh tone. She looked between the two teenagers once before setting the forms on the coffee table and leaving the room.

"God," Chloe groaned as she relaxed back into the couch, "I thought she would never leave." She leaned forward to glance at the forms. "These are so redundant! Daddy had everyone important tell his secretary if they had special requests already."

"Maybe she just wanted to make sure that she helped with any last minute requests?"

"Whatever." Chloe crumpled the papers and left them in the center of the table. Sabrina tried to inconspicuously look at the snack table, but Chloe was quick to pick up on the other girl's movement and sighed. "You can get yourself some food, Sabrina. You don't have to wait for anyone's permission or anything."

Sabrina hesitated for a moment before doing so with relief on her face. Neither girl had eaten much since lunch. Sabrina was still quite restrained, but her eyes lit up as she perused the snacks. She filled a plate for herself and took a water bottle.

She was about to sit down when she hesitated." Did you want anything, Chloe?"

"No, I'm fine." Though they would not be eating again for quite some time, Chloe found that she herself had no appetite. She often abstained from eating unnecessary food while at events. When she was younger, her mother had stressed how easily she could ruin her clothes or look uncouth while doing so. Ever since then, it had become a habit that was easier to keep than to break.

Sabrina looked as though she wanted to protest, but she chose instead to sit and eat in silence. Time seemed to pass at a snail's pace while they waited. At one point Sabrina attempted to make conversation, but Chloe's frayed nerves over the impending event made her snap dooming them to sit in an awkward silence. It wasn't until the familiar heavy footsteps of her father echoed in the hallway that the fog began to clear in the room.

"Chloe, darling!" her father called from the doorway, his face alight, "the two of you look absolutely beautiful! I trust that Marques wasn't too much of a hassle?"

"She was the same as always," Chloe said as she stood. "Daddy when is Ladybug going to get here? I don't think I can wait much longer!"

"Sweetheart, I'm sure that she and Chat Noir will be here soon. Now we need to go over some important things about tonight. Sabrina?"

"Yes, sir?" Sabrina sat up straighter.

"I assume that you received the updated guest list I sent out last night with the included photos?"

"Yes, I have it here on my tablet."

"Wonderful. I really am grateful to the two of you for taking on this important task. With the Prime Minister here, most of my time will be devoted to making sure that his needs are met. That list should help the two of you with introductions and proper conversation topics. There are a lot of important investors who are going to be attending tonight and making sure that their interactions with Ladybug and Chat Noir are positive is paramount."

"Daddy," Chloe said, eyebrows knitting together, "Isn't it important to make sure that Ladybug and Chat Noir have a good experience, too?"

"Well, that goes without saying. Though I imagine that they will be far easier to please."

"I guess…"

"Now, unless the two of you have any questions, I must be off. Bertrand will be here soon and I cannot be late otherwise we will never hear the end of it tonight." He waited a few moments before patting Chloe on the shoulder. "Ariel will take the two of you to the roof to wait for Ladybug and Chat Noir. Have a good evening, girls." With that André left the room.

Chloe let out a sigh. It was always the same. Having been in his position for all of her life she couldn't remember a time when he wasn't focused on his image. She knew that he cared for her, but she could count on one hand how many events he truly spent time with her.

And, no matter how much Chloe tried to fool herself into believing that she was used it, it still stung.

* * *

A/N: Thank you so much for reading!

First off I want to apologize for how long it's been and thank you for your patience. Work has been extra stressful lately and I've moved in the mean time! I've wanted to post this for awhile, but I couldn't risk the quality of this and following chapters. I hope you all understand.

That being said know that the next chapter will be out within the month. I have to write chapter 8 before I can publish it in order to maintain some finer details, but I can assure you that it shouldn't take nearly as long as this one has. Thanks again and please let me know what you think!

[8/13/17: I didn't realize until I was uploading the next chapter that I forgot to credit TAGH for beta-ing this chapter. Thank you for your hard work. I enjoyed your company during the first part of this journey and your help and advice along the way was invaluable. Thank you so much for that.]


	7. Chapter 7

.

Chapter 7

 _burning everything i know — desperate for a change_

* * *

The roof was windy and cold.

Ariel had suggested that they wait in the doorway of the stairs, but Chloe insisted that she needed to be on the roof to greet the guests of honor. She knew that Marques would kill her if she ruined her hard work, but Chloe couldn't risk missing Ladybug and Chat Noir's entrance.

Sabrina had stood by her side for a few minutes, but after nearly losing most of the flowers in her hair Chloe ordered her back into the stairwell. Sabrina tried to object, but a few well-placed words and Chloe had changed her mind.

Sabrina refused to allow Chloe to leave her sight, though, which frustrated Chloe to no end. She needed to have a private word with Ladybug and Chat Noir as soon as possible, but with her friend's vigilance she wasn't sure if that would be possible tonight. She had hoped that by sending Sabrina away that she might just have that chance,This just might be the only opportunity that she would have. With the wind whipping loudly across the roof it would be difficult for Sabrina to hear from where she stood just inside the entrance.

If she was lucky she would be able to tell them of her recent acquisition of the Bee Miraculous. In fact, this might be the only opportunity that she could tell them about her existence as a hero as well. Chloe knew that she had to keep her identity a secret from civilians, but surely they needed to know. It wouldn't do them any good to have trump card if they didn't even know what suit it was.

"Ugh," Chloe mumbled to herself. "I'll never get to tell them if Sabrina's around."

"Tell who, Chloe?" Lyssa asked as she opened the purse and poked her head out.

"Ladybug and Chat Noir."

Lyssa regarded her carefully. "And what exactly are you wanting to tell them?"

"My identity, of course." Chloe crossed her arms at the same time Lyssa frowned at her.

"Chloe, you can't do that."

"What?" Chloe said in a louder tone of voice than she had meant to.

"Is everything okay, Chloe?" Sabrina called from the doorway.

"Everything's just peachy, Sabrina." Chloe waved her hand dismissively without turning around. "Our guests of honor are just a little bit late is all."

"But they have about five more minutes before they're actually late, Chloe." Chloe huffed and chose to ignore Sabrina's point. She repositioned her purse in front of her and pretended to look through her purse as she gave Lyssa a scathing glare.

"What do you mean I can't tell them?" She asked in a fierce whisper.

"Your identity needs to be kept a secret for as long as possible, Chloe. It protects both you and your loved ones. And even though Ladybug and Chat Noir are more than likely trustworthy people—"

"They're _heroes_ , Lyssa. Of course—"

"And if I named every 'hero' that has fallen in the history of humanity we would be here for decades."

Chloe snapped her mouth shut and looked away. While she had not known Lyssa for a long time, the kwami's steely tone cut through her. There was a tense silence between the pair before the ice in Lyssa's eyes melted a fraction and she flew up to meet Chloe's eyes.

"I'm sorry, Chloe." Chloe flinched at the feeling of Lyssa's hand on her cheek. Any ice that was left melted immediately and was replaced with gentle concern. "Even if it's true I should not have said it in such a way to you. I'm merely worried. If either of them fell to Hawk Moth it would put you at risk."

"Well then what am I supposed to do? Pretend like I don't know anything when I'm around them?"

"Precisely." Chloe groaned and used her phone to push Lyssa back into her purse.

Or at least she would have if it hadn't gone through her.

Chloe gaped as she watched the kwami stay still as the phone kent moving. She nearly lost her balance in the process. "Excuse you." Lyssa said with a cross of her arms. " I understand that you're frustrated, but that is no reason to take your frustrations out on me!"

"My phone—"

"Went through me, yes. Kwamis happen to be able to move through non-living objects. If I had not been able to, you would have certainly injured me. Thankfully, as a demi-god, that is not a concern. But I will have you know that does not excuse your behavior."

Lyssa puffed out her chest. The two stared at each other for a moment before Lyssa looked to the side. Her inhuman eyes seemed to focus on something and she immediately lost all of her ire."We'll talk more about this later," she said in a whisper before diving into Chloe's purse.

Chloe turned and looked to where Lyssa had been looking. She found Ladybug and Chat Noir landing on the roof together behind the entrance where Sabrina and Ariel were standing. Chloe was about to move around to greet them, but caught herself when she saw pink and green lights outline the entrance.

They couldn't possibly...

But they most certainly had. While it was obvious that the pair were Paris's Dynamic Duo, they weren't transformed. Their usual spandex had been replaced with formal wear that would put many of the other guests to shame.

Chat Noir wore what appeared to be a normal black suit, but as they approached it became apparent to Chloe that it was most definitely a Gabriel design. Which, in all honesty, clashed with the gaudy lime green bow tie. His hair was as messy as always, but somehow it all seemed to come together in a way that might be impossible for someone else.

his mask was slightly off. Not enough for most of the guests to notice, but any adamant fan would surely notice that his eyes were far more human than when in costume.

Ladybug, on the other hand, wore a dress that made her look anything but ordinary. Her dress was a deep red. And, while it was quite modest with its long sleeves and length, it was obvious that the tailor knew their craft well. Chloe couldn't name this designer's work, but the intricate lace on the bodice and the way that the chiffon pooled around her made the superhero look absolutely stunning.

She also noticed that her mask was not her usual mask, but the slight alterations to the color matched the red and complimented her in a way that Chloe didn't think was possible.

A small knot of anxiety twisted itself inside of Chloe at the sight of them. They both wore masks, but there was something slightly off about both of them. They were both similar to their usual ones, but between the lace added to Ladybug's and the more human eyes of Chat that crinkled slightly as they caught sight of her made it abundantly obvious that they were not magical.

And if they weren't protected by magic, then wouldn't the be in danger? Sure her father had taken great measures to ensure everyone's safety. But if the wrong person noticed…

"Hello, Chloe!" Chat Noir said jovially as they approached her, effectively pulling her from her worry. "I heard that you're going to be showing us around tonight!"

"H-Hi. Uh. Yes. That's me! Hostess extraordinaire!" She put on a mask of cheerfulness and pushed down any lingering concern. Chat raised an eyebrow, but she turned to his partner before he could comment. "Ladybug! You look really pretty tonight! And your dress! You just _have_ to tell me where you got it."

The superheroine stopped and blinked at her for a moment in surprise before her cheeks flushed at the compliment. "Oh, uh thank you. A, uh, friend of mine made it for me."

Chloe wanted to ask if Ladybug's friend would make a dress for her as well, but at that moment Sabrina and Ariel approached the guests of honor. It took much of her self control to not snap at them for interrupting her time with her favorite hero.

"Welcome!" Ariel said as she extended a hand to each of the superheroes. "My name is Ariel and I'm the event coordinator for this evening. If either of you have any special requests please let me know. My staff and I will be more than happy to do what we can to accommodate your needs."

"We'll need cookies and camembert," Ladybug said without missing a beat. Ariel blinked at the odd request before nodding with an over-enthusiastic smile painted on her face.

"Anything else?" Ladybug and Chat Noir shared a look before Ladybug shook her head. "Alright I will get on that immediately. Would it be alright to bring it to the reception room? Or do you need it at the dinner table?"

"The reception room will be fine, Thank you."

"Then, if you'll excuse me. I will leave you in these ladies' care." With that Ariel turned on her heel and walked briskly to the roof entrance leaving the superheroes with their escorts for the evening. There was a beat of awkward silence before Ladybug took the initiative and turned to Sabrina.

"You're Sabrina, right?" Ladybug asked. Sabrina stared at her in surprise before nodding excitedly. "When the Mayor mentioned that he would have someone help us throughout the evening, I figured he would hire an assistant or something. I didn't realize that you and Chloe were going to be the ones escorting us tonight."

"Uh, y-yeah. I'm going to be taking care of the names and stuff." Sabrina gestured to her tablet. "Chloe, of course, knows a lot of them from memory, but there are apparently a lot of new people coming tonight."

"Daddy kept changing the guest list," Chloe said as she waved her hand dismissively. "I tried memorizing it, but he said there was no point so if there's someone I don't know Sabrina will tell me."

"I would have thought that the list would have been finalized ahead of time," Chat Noir said.

"Apparently Daddy's assistant forgot to invite some of the people that donated their goods and services to the auction. Then there was the fiasco of the Prime Minister wanting to attend—"

"The Prime Minister is going to be here?" Ladybug squeaked out in surprise.

"Yeah. Daddy was talking to him about the event and he wanted to meet the two of you." Or at least that was the official story. Truth be told, he was there to award the two heroes their medals, but the lie was necessary to keep the award a surprise.

"Oh. Wow." Ladybug breathed as her hand went to her signature pigtails and tightened the bows securing them in place. Her hands went to fuss with her dress as well, but before she could Chat took one of her hands and squeezed it.

"You look fine, my lady. Though, if I may, I do have one final touch." Chloe watched his other hand, which had been behind his back, come around to reveal a plastic container.

He retrieved his hand from Ladybug's grasp and opened it to reveal a beautiful red rose and baby's breath corsage with black ribbon accents. Ladybug gasped as he pulled it out and revealed a beautiful bracelet that looked to be made of white gold and diamonds.

"Chat. I couldn't possibly-"

"I can't return it now," he said with a toothy grin. "Corsages are non-refundable." He took her hand in his and carefully clasped it around her wrist.

"Please tell me that you didn't spend a lot of money on this."

"I didn't, actually. The bracelet was my mother's and the florist I went to refused to charge me when he found out who I was ordering this for."

"Chat! We agreed on no gifts!"

"You said, and I quote, 'Chat don't you dare spend a single cent on me.' Since this did not, in fact, cost me anything, I technically didn't break our agreement." Ladybug groaned and put her head in her other hand. This only made Chat's grin spread even further.

"Fine," she said with a resigned sigh. Chat Noir let out a whoop, but he was quickly silenced when his partner shot him a glare. " _But_ , we are going to talk about this later."

"Yes, my lady." He smiled sheepishly as he turned to look at Sabrina and Chloe almost as if he had forgotten that they were still there. Chloe rolled her eyes as he scratched at the back of his head. "So, ah, where do we need to go?"

"According to the schedule some of the guests should be arriving about now, but dinner won't be served for another hour," Sabrina said to her tablet as she made a point to not make eye contact. The glow of the screen illuminated the blush on her face that she was trying to hide, but none of those in her company chose to acknowledge it. "So, depending on how much socializing you want to do we can either go to the reception room or we can go to the Astruc Ballroom and you can start meeting committee members, patrons, and donors."

"Committee members, patrons and donors?" Ladybug asked with a slight tilt of her head.

"Committee members are the people who helped set up the event. Donors are the people who have donated goods and services to the auction, and patrons are the people who will be bidding on those items," Chat explained without missing a beat. Chloe blinked and snapped her mouth shut. She had been about to give the same spiel, but had been cut off before she had even had the chance to do more than open her mouth.

She had always written Chat off as some sort of miscreant who had stumbled into the superhero life. But his blasé attitude towards his gift to Ladybug and his prompt response seemed to speak differently of him. Coupled with his designer suit it was likely that he was born into money.

For the first time, Chloe wondered who Chat truly was.

"Oh," Ladybug said without paying Chloe's display any mind. "Are there supposed to be a lot of people?"

"There are about 300 people on the guest list," Sabrina interjected. "While there will most likely be a few people who won't show up, each seat is worth about—"

"What Sabrina is _trying_ to say is that people are invested in this event and so it's unlikely that they won't show up," Chloe interrupted. She could see anxiety start to knit itself into Ladybug's expression. Her behavior painted a different picture than Chat's. She had never really considered Ladybug's social status, but there was high possibility that she was of a class similar or lower to Sabrina's.

Hearing that each seat was worth about 2,500 euros would have likely caused her to have a heart attack.

"How about we go check out the reception room first?" Chat suggested.

"Sounds like a good idea. I imagine Ariel will have your… requests there by the time we get there." She pretended to find them odd. Likely the food was for their kwami. She'd have to make a point to give them the opportunity to feed them without anyone noticing. "Follow me."

There was a silence that permeated the group as they carefully made their way down the service stairs. It was only one flight until they would reach the floor that would allow them to take an elevator the rest of the way, but it was slow going for Ladybug and Sabrina who appeared to have minimal experience in heels.

"Tell me, Ladybug," Chloe asked as they waited for the elevator. "Have you ever been to an event like this before?"

"Not as a guest," Ladybug said vaguely. The elevator dinged and the four of them entered.

"Alright, then I'll make a suggestion: be polite, but don't say too much. Everyone in the ballroom downstairs is going to be falling over themselves to please you, but they really only want the satisfaction of saying that they did so. They are the definition of wolves in sheep's clothing. They may be putting a lot of money into a good cause, but they could care less where their money is going as long as it's going somewhere that will make them look good."

"Wait," Ladybug said as folded her arms, "When you say everyone—"

"I _mean_ everyone," Chloe said with a scoff. To think that Ladybug thought she was leading her astray was quite insulting. "Sure there are some people who don't look for the attention as much as everyone else, but I can't think of only one person who is unaffected by it. And considering I know for a fact that Adrien isn't attending tonight, there are no exceptions." She glanced at Sabrina momentarily. "Present company excluded."

"Don't you think that you're being a bit harsh, Chloe?" Chat Noir asked. Chloe arched an eyebrow at him. Surely if he had money he knew how these types of events worked. "I mean your father doesn't seem like the type to act like that."

Chloe laughed.

"Seriously? My father has been mayor for longer than I've been _alive._ He might have mellowed out over the years, but he knows how to play the field better than anyone else. He hasn't stayed mayor just by chance, you know." She felt quite a bit of satisfaction when he winced.

"I suppose that makes sense."

"Of course it makes sense. I know more about this than anyone else in all of Paris!"

With that the elevator came to a stop and opened up to reveal a relatively empty hallway. Chloe lead their group in the direction of the reception room when she became aware of two figures standing in front of the doorway. She came up short at the sight.

One of the figures was a tall man wearing a white suit and the other appeared to be a lady wearing a simple navy blue dress Chloe pursed her lips in confusion. Very few people were allowed to be in the room. Key committee members, the guests of honor, her father, the Prime Minister, Sabrina, and herself were supposed to be the only people with access.

Chloe was about to call out to the pair when the turned and revealed themselves to be familiar faces: Gabriel Agreste and his assistant Nathalie Sancour. The tension in her shoulders melted away almost immediately. While he was not a key member of the committee, as a long-standing friend of the family, it wasn't surprising that he would gain an exception to the rules.

Without any preamble Gabriel turned and began walking towards the group, leaving Nathalie behind. Out of the corner of her eye Chloe noticed Chat Noir stiffen, but before she could consider it too much Gabriel was before them.

"Miss Bourgeois," he said courteously. "You're doing well this evening I presume?"

"Yes I am. And how are you doing Mr. Agreste?"

"Quite well, I suppose."

"Adrien texted me last night and said that he wasn't feeling well enough to come tonight. Is he doing any better?" Gabriel's eyes flickered to the heroes standing behind Chloe before he let out a sigh.

"I believe he is doing better. Though I suppose we won't know until tomorrow. He was resting when Nathalie and I left the house. You know how much he sleeps when he's recovering."

Chloe nodded. Though Adrien was doing very well, as a child he had been prone to getting sick. According to him, he had been born premature and it had left him slightly more susceptible. Doctors said that he would grow out of it, and it certainly seemed as though he had once he had become a preteen, but that didn't stop his parents from continuing to homeschool him years afterwards.

It was a moot point now, but she still detested Gabriel for not seeing his son's need for social interaction outside of events such as these. She and her father had pushed for him to go to the same school as her for quite a while before Chloe had gone behind his back. To this day she wasn't quite sure if he knew exactly who had been behind his son's sudden enrollment in the school. But it would certainly be in her and Adrien's best interest to not bring up the issue themselves.

"This is Gabriel Agreste." Chloe said in an attempt to redirect the conversation.. "He is one of the CARE committee members and has donated a commission to the auction if I recall correctly." She looked to Sabrina who nodded discreetly.

"It is a pleasure to meet the two of you again." Gabriel said as he strode forward to offer his hand to Ladybug.

"Likewise," she said with a shake of his hand. He seemed to linger for a moment before extending his hand to Chat Noir as well.

"We've been hearing wonderful things about the organization." Chat said as he retrieved his hand from Gabriel's lingering hand as soon as was polite. "I know it puts our minds at ease knowing that there are people willing to help those who need it. Especially the people that we aren't able to check in with after the akuma attacks."

"Your words are too kind. I am merely a committee member."

Chloe could feel an odd tension between the two that she couldn't quite understand. From what she understood Gabriel was very supportive of the heroes. Had something happened between them or was she just imagining things?

"Be that as it may," Chat said, "we still appreciate your support."

At the appearance of a forced smile on Chat's face, there wasn't a doubt in Chloe's mind that something had happened between them. Both of their words were quite polite but they seemed to be masking something. And, whatever that thing was, caused the air to grow thick with tension.

"Sir?" Gabriel turned to his assistant who was approaching them with a box in her hands. "The president of the committee would like to have a word with you."

"Can't it wait?"

"No, sir. It's about one of the items from the car dealership. It seems that one of the—"

"I see." he cut her off and turned back to the heroes. "You must excuse me. It seems as though another crisis needs my attention. Please have a wonderful evening. Nathalie, make sure that they all get a favor and then join me."

"Of course, sir."

Chloe blinked as Nathalie passed out small black bags to each of them. She stared at the nondescript bag for a moment. She couldn't remember her father saying anything about favors being passed out. She caught the secretary by the arm before she could get more than a step away.

"What are these?"

"Worry stones," Nathalie said simply. "The Gabriel brand donated them to be passed out to all of the guests who win auctions as gifts of appreciation. There's a card with more information about the CARE organization inside of the bag."

"Did my father approve of these? I believe that it was quite clear that the most advertising that a company could have at this event was through their donations to the auction, and their public sponsorships."

Nathalie rolled her eyes.

"Of _course_ they are approved. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have work to do." Turning, she ripped her arm out of Chloe's hands. Without any hesitation she stalked after her employer who had just turned down the corridor. Chloe huffed at the brusque manner that Nathalie dismissed her. She would certainly need to have to have a conversation with her father about that woman's behavior after the gala came to a close.

"What was that about?" Ladybug asked quirking her eyebrow expectantly at her partner.

"Ah... It's..." Chat Noir glanced at Chloe and then back to Ladybug. "Nothing. Nothing at all." She held his gaze. It seemed as though they were having a conversation of their own, but Chloe couldn't make anything of it. Though it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to assume that the list of things that they would need to 'talk about later' was growing. Eventually Ladybug relented and turned her attention to Chloe expectantly.

"The room is just down this hallway," Chloe said and lead them to the room. It was as they had left it aside from the addition of cookies and a plate of stinky cheese sitting on the coffee table. Each had a sign that clearly marked them for the heroes' consumption only. It was unlikely that anyone would eat them regardless, but the fear of upsetting the duo would certainly help to deter any particularly sticky fingers.

"Take a seat," Chloe said as she gestured to the couches. "Do you want anything to eat or drink?"

Ladybug blinked at her in surprise. She merely shook her head and did as Chloe suggested. Chat Noir chose to stand behind her, setting his gift bag beside her own on the couch. Chloe wanted nothing more than to sit right next to Ladybug and begin fawning over her. But, with the need to be a good hostess, she found herself sitting opposite her instead.

"I-I think that we should only stay for a little while," Sabrina said quietly from her stance by the door. She appeared to be juggling too many things and nearly dropped her tablet. She was able to catch it at the last second and decidedly placed it under her arm and tucked the small bag in her clutch. She buried her blushing face in her tablet once again before continuing. "Mayor Bourgeois said that it's important to make sure that we, uh, I mean you two, are seen by the guests before dinner starts."

Chloe waved her hand dismissively. "They're the guests of honor. The party doesn't start until they walk through the door. If they need more time here they can take it."

"Well we wouldn't want to be la—" Ladybug began to stand, but was cut off by Chloe reaching forward with a hand to keep her from moving. She dimly registered Chat Noir going rigid and kept herself from actually making any contact.

"You won't be late. Trust me, you'll be begging for this time alone after five minutes of being out there." She looked down at the black heels peeking out from underneath Ladybug's skirt. "Especially if you aren't used to walking in heels."

Chloe leaned back into the couch and watched as Ladybug did the same. She absently threw the bag that she had received from Nathalie onto the floor. "Now," she continued, "as I mentioned earlier: don't talk too much. Talking about the organization and other general topics are fine, but no one needs to know about your personal life."

"Considering I don't talk about that to begin with, I should be fine," Ladybug said with a cross of her arms.

Chloe continued on. "If you feel uncomfortable, excuse yourself or give me a look. Chat Noir if you're having issues look to Sabrina. Sabrina if you can't help then get me. If either of you need to leave for any reason let us know and we'll escort you to the nearest exit."

"You know I meant to ask: why do we need escorts?" Chat Noir asked. "I think that My Lady and I are rather capable of handling ourselves."

Chloe raised an incredulous eyebrow. "For your safety, obviously." She wanted to mention how it was doubly important considering that neither of them were currently transformed, but if she appeared to know too much it might raise more questions than she had time for. "Besides, we had no way of knowing if either of you had prior experience at events like this. Considering Ladybug mentioned that she _doesn't_ I'd appreciate you shutting up and letting me continue."

She chose to ignore his annoyed glare. "After the meet and greet you'll be served dinner. Last I checked there will be eight people at the dinner table. The four of us, my father, the Prime Minister, and the co-founders of CARE: Alphonse Marchal and Olivia Brunelle. You'll have to talk a bit more in-depth with them, but if you get the Prime Minister talking about his upcoming campaign you won't have to worry too much about that.

"Immediately after dinner my father will make a few remarks followed by a short break. Afterwards everyone will reconvene for the auction. Then there will be a short reception afterwards. You won't be required to stay past the auction, but if there is anyone that you'd like to speak with again we can work together to find them. Any questions?"

Ladybug blinked at Chloe's rapid-fire instructions. It was a look that Chloe was quite used to by now. Ladybug had clearly underestimated her. She didn't know what Ladybug had assumed about her, but obviously her display had surprised her.

Ladybug hesitated for a moment. It looked as though she did have a few questions that she wanted to ask. But, in the end, she chose to shake head instead.

"Well, if you do then don't hesitate to pull either me or Sabrina aside." Chloe glanced at the clock and sighed. "I suppose we should head out now. There's a vast difference between late and fashionably late."

"Sounds like a plan," Chat Noir said as he came around the couch and extended his hand to Ladybug. She blushed slightly as his hand moved from her hand to the crook of her arm.. The pair were nearly through the door when Chloe let out a loud noise.

"I almost forgot! There's one more thing that we need to do before we go in there!" She opened her purse and pushed Lyssa aside in order to retrieve something. She felt a glare sear her face, but she ignored it in favor of waving her phone around for all to see. "We need a selfie!"

"Chloe," Ladybug said tiredly, "Is it really—"

"Sabrina get in here too!" Chloe retrieved her friend from the door and positioned her next to Ladybug. She pushed Chat Noir back in order to be on Ladybug's other side. She ignored the short cry of complaint and situated her phone so that all four of them were easily seen on the screen. "Smile!"

Chat Noir, while slightly miffed at being pushed out of the way, was happy to go along with Chloe's request. Ladybug, on the other hand, was a bit more obstinate. Chloe didn't know why her hero detested taking pictures together, but this was an important night and there was a distinct need of commemorating it.. She frowned for a second before she forced a pout and widened her eyes at the superheroine, hoping that her face would be cute enough to get her way.

"Please? This is a really important night. And it would really mean the world to me because you're my hero and—"

"Fine." Ladybug raised a hand to stall Chloe's impending squeal. "But no more after this, got it?" Chloe let out a squeal and hugged Ladybug. Before she could respond in anyway, Chloe pulled back and repositioned her phone to capture the four of them smiling at the phone. Chloe's was bright and excited, Chat Noir's was his normal Cheshire, Sabrina's was accented with a blush. But what was most striking was Ladybug's. It was a mix of exasperation and amusement. And, while it wasn't nearly as relaxed as Chloe would have hoped…

Her smile was more genuine than any other she had seen before.

* * *

Chloe was exhausted.

The reception had been a true test of her patience. She knew that everyone there would be hungry for the attention of their superheroes, but she hadn't anticipated just how vicious they would be about it. Like vultures, the guests descended on the pair the moment that they made their grand entrance.

The most dignified of Paris lost most of their decorum and vied for Ladybug and Chat Noir's attention like young school girls around their crush. Sure they tried to mask it with flowery words and purple prose, but she could easily see through them. She was sure, if given a chance, many of them would kill each other for the chance to spend a modicum of time with the guests of honor.

Ladybug and Chat Noir, surprisingly, handled the situation with far more dignity than Chloe had expected of them. From Chat Noir's usual attitude and the knowledge that this was Ladybug's first high class event, she had assumed that they would flounder. But, despite the pressure, both remained poised under pressure.

Chloe, on the other hand, was perpetually losing her cool. Most of the guests ignored her, while maddening, it was forgivable. What was not forgivable, though, was trying to push through her or Sabrina in an attempt to get to Ladybug and Chat Noir. There were a few guests who had to be escorted to their seats by security when their excitement caused them to barrel past others and insert themselves far too close for comfort. As far as Chloe was concerned they deserved to be arrested for such behavior, but the potential for their loss of donations swayed the staff's judgement and resulted in far too many wrist-slaps.

After one guest, who was clearly intoxicated beyond what was acceptable, nearly kissed Ladybug on the cheek, Chloe called an end to the meet and greet. Without any preamble, she and Sabrina parted the crowd and forced their way over to their reserved table where security kept watch. Chat Noir was helping his partner into her chair when an irate Ariel approached them. She gave a fake smile to the slightly separated group around her before roughly pulling Chloe away and out of earshot.

"I hope that you are aware," she bit out in a hushed tone, "that there are still fifteen minutes left until the end of the reception?"

"Of course I am _aware_." Chloe ripped her arm out of Ariel's tight grip and crossed her arms. "But due to _your_ terrible security Ladybug was nearly assaulted," Chloe snarled back. "The organization of this event is utterly deplorable. If I were you I wouldn't come into work on Monday because my father is _certainly_ going to hear everything about this." Ariel stepped back as if she had been struck.

"Are you _threatening_ me?" Ariel asked, aghast.

"I don't make threats, I make promises."

Ariel gaped at her. "I'll have you know that I've worked at this company longer than you've been alive. There is no way that you would be able to persuade them to fire me."

"Looks like you'll have to find out the hard way, then," Chloe said as she leaned into the coordinator's personal space. Ariel stood her ground valiantly, but she was the first to break away with a huff. Chloe merely rolled her eyes at the comments that she could hear her muttering as she walked away.

"Chloe," Lyssa said quietly as she popped her head out of her chosen's purse, "You really shouldn't have done that."

"Yeah, well she needed to be put in her place," Chloe said under her breath. She looked around to make sure that no one could see her kwami before sending a glare at her purse. "Besides, what am I supposed to do? Let these egotistical vultures do whatever they want?"

"No, but that doesn't mean that you should have lashed out at her. You could cause an akuma if you're not careful.

Chloe did her best to suppress a wince. She was _quite_ aware with how easy it was to cause an akuma. She wasn't oblivious of the fact that she had caused many of the akuma over the year, but that didn't mean that she had to admit that to Lyssa.

She didn't need to know how terrible Chloe truly was.

"There hasn't been an akuma in weeks, Lyssa," Chloe said with a huff. She wasn't looking directly at her purse, but she could feel the annoyed look being sent her way.

"That doesn't mean you need to risk it by creating an unnecessarily negative environment."

"Oh, whatever," Chloe pushed Lyssa back into her purse and fastened the clasp of her purse. "It'll be fine," she muttered under her breath.

She meant to direct her reassurance to Lyssa, but she knew that she needed to hear it, too. Because, as her eyes were drawn to the retreating form of Ariel, she could feel her stomach sink by a degree. The event coordinator tried to look put together as she addressed a guest, but she soon snapped at a server trying to get her attention.

Chloe couldn't make out what they were saying, but a moment later Ariel threw up her hands in frustration and stormed off. Chloe could almost see the storm clouds gathering around her as she made her way to one of the exists of the room.

Chloe bit her lip and made a conscious effort to return to the table. As she approached the group, she found Olivia Brunelle talking adamantly with Ladybug about something. She was tempted to tell Ladybug about how she should stand to talk, especially because her conversation mate was standing, but she refrained. Olivia didn't appear to be insulted so no harm done.

With only a passing wave to Alphonse, who was deep in conversation with Chat Noir and Sabrina, Chloe took her seat beside Ladybug. It wouldn't do much to lessen the party faux pa, but at least it might keep someone from drawing attention to it. The last thing anyone needed was for someone from a neighboring table, an esteemed guest or committee member, to make a comment that would embarrass the superheroine.

Chloe had been seated for only a minute when she felt someone tap her shoulder. Looking up, she found Sabrina regarding her with a look of concern. She rolled her eyes, and took a drink of water in an attempt to clear whatever look had necessitated Sabrina's appearance.

"I'm fine, Sabrina," she said quietly enough that only she could hear.

Sabrina didn't look convinced. "What happened?" She pressed. "It looked like it got pretty heated."

"Nothing besides an adult acting like a child," Chloe said as she turned her hand to inspect her nails. "Remind me to tell Daddy about Ariel's poor skills, though. No proper event coordinator should treat a guest like that or let things get as out of hand as they have already."

"Sure." Sabrina tapped her tablet. "Do you want to talk to him tonight about it?"

"No. I think that tomorrow would be better. Daddy would kill me if I made a scene tonight with the Prime Minister here."

"Okay," Sabrina said and went back to her seat on the other side of the superheroes. Despite Ariel's concern over prematurely moving to the dinner table, none of the guests made a huge fit over it. No one tried to push past their security and, aside from a few gawking from a distance, they were allowed a small respite from the party.

Once her father and Prime Minister Bertrand arrived all of the guests for their table sat down as well. Chloe tried her best to engage in conversation, but aside from introducing herself and the heroes to the Prime Minister, she did not have much to contribute. That was fine by her. She knew only the bare minimum about the CARE organization and it was more important for the others to talk about it than for her to insist on attention.

And, if it meant that she wouldn't have to think too much about the implications of Ariel not checking in on their table, then even better.

* * *

A/N: Thank you all for the kind support! I know this isn't a ton story-wise after so much time... But, I had to set up some important stuff in this chapter in order to make things work in the future.

To be honest I had this chapter done a while ago. But I needed to get a decent ways into the next chapter before I could post this one because I wanted to be _sure_ that I had everything I needed since, if you go back and check chapter 4, you'll realize that I had to change Recharge a bit because I made it too weak. (I'll remind all of you in the narrative, but I wanted to make sure to mention it here.)

The main reason this took so long was because I was terribly blocked on the next chapter. As some of you may know I no longer have a beta. I won't get into details, but I was hurt by a decision she made and it affected me greatly. I didn't realize that was the source of it all until a week or so ago. But, after re-working some stuff that was planned prior to my uploading chapter 6, I'm finally able to sit down and write.

So thank you all so much for the continued support. I appreciate it, as well as the lack of badgering me for updates. In all honesty if there'd been a push this past month from any of you for an update I probably would have secluded myself a lot. But you guys didn't do that. So thank you so much for that.

Also thanks to doctorlaz for looking this over for me before I published it.

And a special thanks to my gh family. I love you guys so much and appreciate the love you give me.

Anyways! As always thanks for reading and please let me know what you think! An exciting chapter is slated to come up next so I'd love to know what you think is going to happen and if there's anything you guys think I need to work on. Thanks again and see you next time!


	8. Chapter 8

—

Chapter 8

 _burning everything i know — desperate for a change_

* * *

Conversation didn't flow until they had been served their second course for the evening.

Most of the topics revolved around boring matters occurring across the city like new legislation, small projects and future endeavors. It seemed as though the superheroes couldn't get enough of the topics at hand. More than likely that had to do with the fact that they did not live around the public gossip everyday like Chloe did.

But, while they were enthralled, Chloe did her best to ignore them. She already knew many of the finer details, and most of them were fronts to make it seem as though her father was doing more work than he was. Instead of contributing she chose to eat her salad in silence.

As she watched the servers switch out their courses, Chloe noticed a shift in the conversation and paid a bit more attention to it.

"So, tell me a little bit about yourselves!" Olivia said enthusiastically, "It's so rare to see the two of you outside of when you are dealing with Akuma I hope you'll forgive my curiosity."

Ladybug and Chat Noir shared a look. Chloe couldn't quite read what they were saying to each other, but after a moment Ladybug nodded. With a grin Chat Noir turned to Olivia.

"There isn't really all that much to tell. Outside of this part of our lives we're both your normal everyday citizen. Besides, we can't tell too much otherwise it could put us at risk."

"Of course, of course. I meant more so what do the two of you enjoy doing? Do you have any hobbies? I'd hate for us to only talk about business at an event such as this."

"Well..." Ladybug paused for a moment, but then pressed on. "I do like to play video games in my spare time."

"So do I!" Chat jumped in excitedly. Most of the table laughed heartily at his excitement. He sheepishly scratched at the back of his head.

"And what about you Chloe? Sabrina? Do the two of you like video games as well?" Olivia said as she turned to address them. .

"We don't have time for things like that," Chloe said with a sniff. The air of the table seemed to shift. While it wasn't a lie she could tell that it was the wrong thing to say. She scrambled to save face. "I-I mean we're so busy that we've never found a game that fits into our busy schedules!"

"I'm sure you are quite busy," Olivia smiled at her. "I remember when I was attending school. There was always so much homework to do I never had much free time." She turned to the superheroes. "I can't even imagine what it must be like saving Paris all of the time on top of all of the responsibilities that come with going to school."

"Yes," Alphonse interjected. "I must admit it worries me that there's the possibility that the two of you are attending school while also saving the day."

"W-Well like we've said before," Ladybug said as she tried her best to not appear too nervous. "We can neither confirm nor deny our ages."

"A wise choice," Prime Minister Bertrand said with a resolute nod. "I think we all can speculate how old the two of you are, but it is best for everyone that it never be confirmed. If this Hawk Moth fellow were to suspect too much he may target innocent other young people in an attempt to find the two of you."

"I apologize," Olivia said, abashed, "I didn't think something so simple could put so many people in danger."

"It's alright, Miss Brunelle," Ladybug said. "We understand how curious everyone is. We can try to answer small questions as long as you don't press if we say that we can't go any further."

"Of course!"

"Perhaps it would be best to stick with impersonal topics, then?" Alphonse interjected. "I, for one, am curious of your professional opinions on the effects that akuma have on people."

"I wouldn't exactly call ourselves professionals..." Ladybug began nervously.

"Perhaps not in the traditional sense, but the two of you undeniably have the most experience with akuma and their victims. You must have some insight into the situation."

"I can't guarantee that—"Chat began, but cut himself off to look at something going on behind Chloe. His eyebrows knit together as he continued to stare. Chloe turned in her seat to search for what had gained his attention.

It didn't take long to figure it out.

A short distance away, past their security and in the committee member section of the tables, a server was bowing to a table in what could only be described as repentance. Chloe couldn't hear what was being said, but apparently the server's apology was deemed inadequate by the party wronged because a moment later a disgruntled man stood and towered over the poor young man.

The server, who couldn't be much older than Chloe herself, cowered. It looked as though he was going to break under such an intense gaze, but Ariel seemed to appear out of nowhere and placed herself between her employee and the imposing man. At the intrusion the guest turned to face the event coordinator and Chloe was surprised to realize that she recognized him to be Gabriel.

His movement made it abundantly clear as to why he was so irate: his previously immaculate white suit had been marred with a large stain. He crossed his arms over his chest and imposed his height over Ariel. She did her best to not shrink under his intimidating look, though Chloe could tell that she was certainly nervous.

"Oh dear," André said quietly as he stood from his table. "Excuse me, I must go take care of this situation before it escalates further. Please, continue eating in my absence." He walked briskly in the direction of the disagreement.

"That's quite unfortunate," Olivia said quietly. "I wonder if a trip to the dry cleaners will help?"

"I doubt he'll do that," Chat Noir said under his breath.

"Why do you say that, dear?"

Chloe turned just in time to see Chat Noir's eyes widen in surprise before he scratched the back of his head.

"Oh! Well I mean since he's a famous designer I just imagined that he would just make a new one."

"Gabriel's more frugal than that," Olivia said with a laugh.

"I suppose that you would know better than I would."

"Does Mr. Agreste usually get this upset, though?" Ladybug asked in concern. Chloe turned her attention back to the argument at hand and was surprised to find him even more irate.

"Not like this," Chloe murmured. She had only seen him this angry once before. It had been when she and Adrien had been playing hide and seek at a special occasion. She couldn't even remember what it was for at this point. What she did remember was losing Adrien. When too long had passed she had been forced to find an adult to help her.

The memory of the cold anger in his eyes still sent a chill down her spine.

In the end they found Adrien asleep in a cupboard. Apparently he had caught a cold earlier in the week and, though it appeared as though it had passed, it had left him drained enough to pass out after such an exhausting day. His mother was merely glad that he was safe, but Chloe was lectured extensively by Gabriel about how important it was for children to remain where adults told them to be.

It was one of the few memories that could make her chest tighten with shame. Even at that young age she knew that Adrien was always tired. She knew that his immune system was weak. She knew that pushing him too far could make him sick. So what had possessed her to push him to play such a silly game when she could easily see the exhaustion in his eyes?

Her selfishness of course.

Chloe shook her head just as something snapped in the argument. As her vision settled, she became aware of the three parties going their separate directions. Gabriel and Nathalie left for one of the many doors that led to the hallway where the reception room was, Ariel stalked off towards the opposite wall of doors that hid the kitchens, and her father rejoined the rest of their party back at their table.

"I hope that such a silly little thing won't ruin the evening," the mayor said as he rejoined the table.

"What happened?" Prime Minister Bertrand asked.

"Apparently a server accidentally spilled Mr. Agreste's drink on him."

"We gathered as much," Olivia chimed in. "Why was he so upset, though? Surely he could call for a replacement suit?"

"He said that it's the only physical version of his new line's evening wear." André sighed. "Gabriel is a dear friend, but I swear that sometimes he is far too emotional for his own good."

"What do you mean by that?" Chat Noir asked with a sudden intent expression on his face. André raised an eyebrow at the sudden interest.

"Oh, just that he sometimes overreacts to situations." He cleared his throat. "But everything has been settled now. He's calling to have a new suit delivered and Ariel assures me that she will be speaking to the wait staff about being more careful in the future. Why don't we go ahead and finish up? I've heard that the dessert tonight is going to be especially delicious."

Ladybug's eyes lit up. "What kind of dessert?"

André chuckled. "I believe that the patisserie that we asked to cater for us tonight has an assortment of little cakes and treats for everyone. I cannot for the life of me remember exactly what they will be, though I know that they will not disappoint."

"Oh, that sounds just perfect!" Olivia said. She lightly touched Alphonse on his arm. "You know how I can never make up my mind when it comes to choosing dessert."

"Yes. That would also be the reason why we cannot hold committee meetings without choosing the food ahead of time. I don't believe that you contributed anything to that first meeting aside from your dessert preferences."

Olivia gasped. "Alphonse! You told me that we were ordering ahead because the committee had grown so much!"

"Can you fault me for killing two birds with one stone? Besides, ever since we started catering our meals the meetings have gone without a single dessert delay."

"I'm sorry, Olivia," André interjected, "I have to agree with Alphonse here." She stared at him in betrayal for a moment before resolutely ignoring two of her male tablemates. Amused laughter spread across the table for a few moments before the mayor turned his attention to his guests of honor. "Speaking of the committee meetings, the two of you should really consider joining in on one of them. I'm sure that you would be fascinated by it, especially after today's auction."

"Are you sure that we wouldn't be intruding?" Ladybug asked.

"Of course you wouldn't be intruding!" Olivia said emphatically. "In fact, all of us have been wanting to invite you since the very beginning. There was simply no easy way to get ahold of you at the time. Here, let me find something to write on and I'll give you the details. "

Without waiting for any response the woman began digging through her purse. Within moments she had a business card and was writing on the back of it in clean script.

"Here." Olivia said after she finished. She offered the card to Sabrina to pass to Ladybug and waited until the superheroine had been given a chance to look it over before continuing. "If you have any questions contact me and I will be more than happy to answer them. Also, if you could RSVP for the meeting we would greatly appreciate it."

"Thank you. I can't guarantee that—"

"Oh, of course! I merely wanted to make sure the two of you knew that you were welcome to join. If you would like I could make copies of the minutes when you are unable to join."

"We appreciate your offer," Chat Noir said with an easy smile. "We'll talk it over and get back to you later."

"Wonderful. I cannot wait to hear from you two." Olivia's eyes went wide as a smile stretched across her face. "Oh my! It looks as though we're about to finally be served dessert!"

Chloe looked up to find a line of servers holding covered trays. Two stepped out and walked towards their table. They were about to open their lids when the sound of slamming doors drew everyone's attention.

Opposite the line of servers stood one lone figure. They stood with their arms stretched wide revealing an orange and blue diamond patterned spandex suit. Overtop it was a short black cocktail dress with a gaudy orange scarf slung carelessly around their neck. And, on their smirking face, a blue mask outlined in a gaudy orange ribbon obscured their identity.

The room came to a standstill as they spoke.

"Good evening esteemed guests! I would apologize for the interruption, but it seems as though no one has manners these days!" Gasps were heard around the room as it became apparent as to the nature of the person. "No matter. I, Miss Etiquette, am more than willing to teach you all some manners."

One of the guests stood abruptly. "Akuma!" he shouted as he pointed at her. Other guests were quick to do the same.

"Now, now. No need to be rude." Miss Etiquette fanned her hands in front of her face. In an instant an array of cutlery appeared. Light glinted off of them for a moment before she spun sending them towards the line of servers. "Staff. Please assist me in teaching these guests their first lesson: no speaking out of turn."

Some of the servers were able to duck away, but at least half were hit with various knives, forks, and spoons. As each item made impact with the server's chests it exploded into a puff of grey smoke. As the smoke cleared away, it revealed that the staff's uniforms had been replaced with navy blue jump suits and bright orange vests. Each donned a mask similar to the akuma's and, oddly enough, the serving plates and lids of earlier remained the same.

What staff had been left behind scrambled out of the way as their turned counterparts marched up to all of the guests that had been attempting to flee. As they approached, they opened the lids. A bright light burst forth and blinded the guests. Dazed, the guests were unable to resist when the servers ushered them back to their empty seats.

"This isn't good," Chloe heard Chat Noir mumble to his partner. "We've got to—"

"I know."

Ladybug began idly removing her heels as she surveyed the room. She paused as her eyes landed on the projector screen on the nearby stage. Her eyes flitted to the two unturned servers cowering behind the table and then a smirk crossed her face.

"I've got an idea." She turned to their servers. "Can we borrow your trays?" The pair nodded and eagerly handed them over to her. Not missing a beat she handed one to Chat. "We'll make a break for the stage and use the trays as shields."

"What a wonderful plan, My Lady."

"Save the compliments for when it works, kitty."

Chloe felt a sense of awe wash over her as she watched Ladybug drop out of her chair into a crouch. Without waiting to see if her movement had drawn the akuma's attention, she made a break towards the stage with Chat Noir close behind.

Chloe's breath caught in her throat as cutlery went whizzing past the table and towards the pair. She and her remaining tablemates ducked as best as they could. Most of them were able to avoid being hit.

With the exception of her father.

She couldn't tell if he had been too slow or if he had purposefully stayed sitting, but two knives impaled his chest. Chloe felt herself freeze as she watched a large puff of grey smoke engulf him and moments later he was donning the same uniform as the others. He stood and a serving tray and lid magically materializing in his hands.

"My, oh, my." Miss Etiquette said as the superheroes disappeared behind the screen unscathed. "Who would have thought that the guests of honor would have such deplorable manners!"

"You're the one who's being rude," Chat Noir said as he and Ladybug appeared on either side of the screen and stood in ready stances donning their usual uniforms. "I'm pretty sure that you're not on the guest list tonight."

"The host doesn't need an invitation!"

Without warning the akuma hurled more cutlery at them. The pair evaded the attack with ease by springing off of the stage and each of them landing on a table. Miss Etiquette growled.

"Staff! I think it's about time that we... Accommodate our guests of honor."

Wordlessly every single one of the akuma's victims stopped what they were doing and rushed towards each of their tables. Ladybug and Chat Noir stood their ground and used their weapons to deflect a few of the servers.

"You know you really have the worst customer service! What happened to the customer is always right?" Ladybug shouted as she sent a staff member flying.

"Article 101.5c of the Catering Employee Handbook states that employees have the right to eject disruptive guests. Considering how unruly the two of you are, I am more than protected from punishment."

"She seriously has something like that memorized?" Chat Noir asked as he extended his staff and pushed a minion across the room.

"She's probably the type that reads all of the terms of service, too," Ladybug said.

"Wait. Doesn't everyone do that?"

Ladybug stopped to stare at her partner. "Chat sometimes I worry about you."

"My Lady—"

"Enough!" Miss Etiquette said with a clap of her hands. "Staff. Show them to their seats!"

Moments later, every server stood stock still. Each held their tray perfectly parallel to the floor. Then reached for their lids and opened them towards the superheroes releasing beams of bright blue light at them.

Both heroes let out a cry as they tried to shield themselves against the light. Ladybug was able to blindly backflip off of her table and away from the servers.

Chat Noir wasn't so lucky.

Whether due to his notorious bad luck or his sensitive eyes, he suddenly found himself blind. In his moment of weakness, the servers grabbed him and pulled him off of the table, sending the tableware clattering onto the ground. He struggled against their grips, but no matter how he struggled they were able to keep their hold.

At the sight of the Akuma's lackeys carrying Chat Noir away from Ladybug, the spotted heroine shouted for her partner and began to make an attempt to get closer to him. She tried to send her yo-yo towards the ceiling to gain purchase and swing to his rescue, but there was nothing strong enough to attach herself to. In the time it took for her to discover her flight-less predicament, more of the citizens-turned-minions had surrounded her preparing to attack again.

Chloe felt her stomach coil tightly. It didn't matter how many times she was stuck in the fray of an akuma attack it always made her feel powerless when the tides turned against her heroes. She wanted nothing more than to jump into the fray and—

But she wasn't powerless anymore, was she?

"Duh," Chloe muttered to herself. She had the same powers that they had. She could most certainly do something. If only she could find a good place to transform.

Looking around, Chloe found much of the crowd had fled in the chaos. Unfortunately, with flying magic cutlery, droves of minions, and flying superheroes it would be nearly impossible for her to escape to find shelter in an abandoned room. She vaguely remembered Alphonse attempting to do just that, but it hadn't ended well for him. Instead of freedom all he found was a fork to the back.

If she couldn't find a place, perhaps she could make a place...

Pulling back the table cloth, Chloe crawled underneath it. As it fell back down to the ground she found that it dampened a lot of the world around her. Much of the cacophony of sounds and bright lights were muted and she was left with very little light to navigate the small space with. In fact if it weren't for the soft glow coming from her phone she would have doubted whether she had successfully opened her purse.

She would have to remember to send the designer a gift for making such great material.

"Lyssa," she said in a hushed voice, "I think that I need to get out there. Ladybug and Chat Noir are in a tight place."

"Is it any worse than it has been in the past?" Lyssa asked.

"Chat Noir is blind and Ladybug can't get to him. I think that's pretty bad."

"But if it isn't any worse than normal, you should stay out of it. You need to—"

"But they haven't fought in _weeks_!"

"Chloe—"

A sudden flood of light caused Chloe to shield her eyes. For a frightening moment, she thought that one of the akuma's minions had found her, but as her eyes adjusted she found a familiar silhouette topped with a halo of red hair.

In her haste to transform Chloe had forgotten about Sabrina.

"There you are!" Sabrina said through a relieved sigh. "I was worried that you'd been turned into one of those scary servers!" Without waiting for an invitation, she scrambled to join Chloe in the small space.

"Of course I wasn't!" Chloe said with a huff. "I'm smarter than that."

"Of course you are," Sabrina said earnestly. "I didn't mean to imply that you weren't. Sorry I—"

"Whatever." Chloe closed her purse. "I just hope that this ends before too long."

"Oh I'm sure that it will! In fact, I think that Ladybug should have all of this cleaned up soon."

"What do you mean soon?!"

Chloe didn't wait for an answer before she crawled to where she had entered her small sanctuary. Looking out across the battlefield, she found that the tables had been turned. Literally.

Ladybug had flipped two of the neighboring tables onto their sides and was using them as cover against the arsenal of cutlery that Miss Etiquette was sending her way. Beside her was Chat Noir who had, miraculously, regained his ability to see and was currently sending minion after minion flying as Ladybug crouched over a red and black spotted triangular… thing in her hands.

"Aha!" Ladybug exclaimed as she stood up victoriously. "Chat, go long!"

"You've got it!"

Without missing a beat Chat flipped over their cover and spring boarded off of the tables onto one close by. He hopped from table to table as he dodge a knife, a server, and then a spoon. As soon as he was about halfway to the akuma, Ladybug pulled her arm back and threw the Lucky Charm at him. Not a moment later a nearby minion opened their platter towards him. A beam of light was headed straight towards him, but Chat deftly moved the item, a prism from the looks of it, and redirected the light to Miss Etiquette instead.

"No!" The akuma called as she attempted to block the blast. But, instead she was hit directly in the eyes. Chat took advantage of her vulnerability and lunged for something tucked away in the gaudy scarf around her neck.

"Ladybug, catch!" He chucked the item to her. She plucked it out of the air and sent it hurtling to her feet. Immediately a purple butterfly appeared in the debris and attempted to flee the scene. As per usual, Ladybug tapped her yo-yo, sent it sailing to capture the akuma, and set it free. Chat then landed next to her and offered the prism to her.

"Lucky Charm!" She called as she flung the item towards the roof of the ballroom. Right before it could touch the ceiling it broke apart and sent millions of ladybugs around the room, fixing all of the damage that had been caused during the battle.

Chloe could only feel numb disappointment as she watched the pair of superheroes approach Ariel. She couldn't hear what they were saying to her. But she could clearly read the embarrassment in how she kept her head bowed.

"I wonder if we could continue the event after a short intermission. I'd hate for everyone's hard work to go to waste," André muttered to himself as he watched some of the guests begin to make their way back into the ballroom.

"Do whatever you want, Daddy," Chloe bit out, "I'm going to the restroom."

"Chloe—"

Chloe didn't wait for him to finish. Spinning away from the table, she stalked across the room toward the reception room, pushing people out of her way as she went.

How on earth had they been able to turn the battle around in such a short amount of time? From her position it had seemed that everything had become so desperate. But, as per usual, they were able to miraculously pull a win from sure defeat.

What really got to her, though, was the fact that it would have been the perfect scene for her to make her debut as a superhero. The first akuma attack after Hawk Moth's long hiatus, the other heroes struggling to survive, and all hope seeming to have been lost. Then, out of nowhere, a new hero would have arrived to assist the old heroes. It would have been perfect…

She was almost out of the room when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

Whirling around, Chloe was ready to give one of the many aristocrats who were milling about aimlessly a piece of her mind. But, instead of an old man wanting attention, she found Sabrina. There was an obvious look of concern on her face as she pulled her hand back carefully.

"Chloe? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Chloe said on a sigh. "I just needed a bit of a break from all of this. Now if you'll excuse me I'll be back in about five minutes."

"Are you… sure?"

If she had her way, she would complain about how unfair it was to sit on the sidelines. She would lament about how dumb Lyssa was being about all of this secret stuff. Sabrina would then console her and they could then plan how to make her best first appearance. Then afterwards she would take Sabrina flying…

In that moment, Chloe wanted nothing more to take a chance and tell Sabrina everything.

But she never would get that chance.

At that moment, one of the doors a ways down from where the girls stood burst off of its hinges and went flying into one of the recently restored tables. Everyone turned and held their collective breaths as they stared at threw new hole. A man in a purple tuxedo and silver mask holding a purple cane strode into the room.

It wasn't abundantly clear exactly who the man was. Was he another akuma? Another enemy entirely? No matter who he was, though, the cold wash of dread that fell down Chloe's back told her that he was dangerous.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the superheroes of Paris," the man drawled when his eyes landed on the pair. "It appears as though I'm late to the party, though. Such a shame."

"Who are you and what do you want?" Ladybug asked as she and Chat Noir slipped into defensive stances.

"My, my. Where are my _manners._ I really should introduce myself shouldn't—" A beep from Ladybug's earrings interrupted him. His eyes flashed as a smirk crossed his face. "Though, I don't believe that you have the time for pleasantries, I'll humor you: my name is Hawk Moth. Now if you would be so kind, hand over your Miraculouses or else I fear that you will have to face the consequences."

"Not on your life," Ladybug said as she sunk further into her stance.

"Pity." He sighed. "No matter. This whole song and dance ends tonight. I hope the two of you are ready to face the music."

Hawk Moth brought his cane up off of the ground and then slammed the butt of it back down into the floor. There was a pause and then a crack in the ground formed. " _Polaris_ ," he said and suddenly fissures began extending themselves outwards as a dark-purple light began emanating from the head of the cane.

"Get out!" Ladybug shouted as they jumped away from the attack and each other. Most citizens froze in fear as a purple light began to pulse from his cane, but Chloe took the opportunity to bolt. Without looking back, she immediately made her way towards the reception room. If there was a place for her to transform it would certainly be in the opposite direction of where the masses would be exiting the building.

"Chloe? Where are you going?!" Sabrina asked as she tried her best to keep up. Chloe silently cursed her luck. Of course Sabrina would follow her. She barely looked back to respond to her friend.

"Don't worry about me! I just need to get something from the reception room. I'll meet you outside!"

Sabrina hesitated as they rounded a corner. Chloe nearly ran into a mop bucket in front of an ajar door in her haste, but she was able to avoid it at the last second. Sabrina stood in the intersection of the hallway staring after her.

"Ok…I'll—"

There was a loud crash back in the ballroom. The whole building shook and forced Chloe to stop to avoid falling. In that moment something seemed to shift between them. All of a sudden a fierce determination flashed in Sabrina's eyes.

Without warning, Sabrina strode forward and grasped Chloe's arm tightly. She spun around and began dragging her friend in the opposite direction. Chloe dug her feet into the carpet in an attempt to stop her.

"Sabrina, let me go this instant! I have to go get—"

"No, Chloe. We have to leave. _Now._ "

"You don't understand I—"

"No. _You_ don't understand!" Sabrina shouted as she whirled around to face Chloe. "You always go and do what you want without caring about anyone else! Some things… Some things are more important than what you want, you know!"

Chloe blinked in surprise at Sabrina. She didn't know where any of this outburst was coming from. It was unlike Sabrina to so openly defy her. And to raise her voice at any point in time was even more of a surprise. It made her wonder what had brought this on.

But they were wasting precious time.

"I'm sorry, Sabrina. You're right. " Chloe said as she poured as much sincerity into her voice as she possibly could as she took Sabrina's hands in hers. The surprise on her face shouldn't have stung to see, but she couldn't dwell on it. "Let's go."

She began leading them back to the intersection where an exit was clearly lit at the end of the hallway. It was likely where Sabrina had originally been leading her. But, as they passed the ajar door, Chloe pivoted suddenly and pushed Sabrina into the empty room. Sabrina cried out as she stumbled. She turned around after a few steps and tried to escape.

But Chloe was faster.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading! I also want to thank you guys so much for your patience! A lot of different things got in the way of me writing and so it means a lot that you guys are sticking around to read more. I can't say exactly when to expect the next chapter, but it won't be nearly as long as the last break.

Also thanks to Snavej for betaing this chapter! Meant a lot to have another set of eyes on this. Hope you all have a lovely day and thanks again!


	9. Chapter 9

—

Chapter 9

 _i feel the fire — it's burning inside me_

* * *

Chloe didn't waste any time. As soon as the door was shut and barred she started running to the reception room. Slamming the door behind her, Chloe unclasped her purse. Lyssa zipped out and hovered in front of her. The Kwami opened her mouth to say something, but Chloe beat her to it.

"I think Hawk Moth showing up is enough of a reason to transform."

"You're right. It is likely that, with Ladybug soon to de-transform, Chat Noir would not stand a chance on his own."

"Then—"

" _That being said_ ," Lyssa said as she flew into Chloe's face. "You absolutely must not rush into battle. While you have the element of surprise on your side, it will only work once. After that, your inexperience could be a hindrance to your teammates."

Chloe groaned.

"And this is why I said that I should have told them right away! We could have—"

"We don't have time to quibble over hypotheticals!" Chloe pulled up short at Lyssa's raised voice. Taking a breath, she continued in a quieter, albeit stern, voice. "What I'm trying to get at is that we need to set up a plan before you go in and bumble about aimlessly."

"And just what would _you_ suggest?"

Lyssa frowned at Chloe's sarcastic upturn of her nose. "Our main priority is aiding Ladybug and Chat Noir as best as we can. You'll need to look at the situation and find the best opportunity you can in order to intercede. This will aid you tremendously and allow you to help coordinate the three of you.

"Historically most of the Bee Miraculous wielders helped to coordinate their teams. Between your boomerang and your wings you'll be able to keep a distance from the fight. This will give you a distinct advantage over Hawk Moth and allow for you to help your teammates."

"Wait. Wouldn't calling the shots be Ladybug's job?"

"The only job _anyone_ has is fighting evil." Lyssa said forcefully before she began to silently fume.

Chloe's hands came up in a placating manner. She wasn't sure why Lyssa was sore about the subject, but whatever it was would have to wait for later.

"Alright, sheesh. Is there anything else?"

"Yes, Recharge—"

"I know, I know. I call it, you give me an item, I throw it on the person who needs it, and then they get a reset on their power and I have five minutes until the transformation wears off."

Lyssa paused, a smile breaking across her face. "You sure learn quick."

"You have to in order to be the Mayor's Daughter." Chloe winked back. "Now, any last words or can we get this show on the road?"

"I think you're good to go," Lyssa said with a smirk and a thumbs up.

Taking a deep breath, Chloe closed her eyes and centered herself.

Sure she was nervous about elbowing her way into Ladybug and Chat Noir's spotlight. And maybe she wasn't completely confident that they would believe her when she declared herself an ally. Or that she truly deserved an opportunity like this…

But this was her moment.

Chloe's eyes flashed open as she threw both of her hands into the air in what was, most certainly, the most heroic pose anyone had ever struck. "Lyssa!" she yelled, "Stripes away!"

Nothing happened.

Looking down, Chloe found Lyssa attempting to conceal her laughter behind her tiny hands. Chloe brought her hands down and pointed them in Lyssa's face.

"Why isn't it working?!"

"It's—" Lyssa cleared her throat trying to regain her composure. "That's not—" She coughed. "That's not the phrase Chloe."

"Then what is it, Lyssa," she growled.

"Well." A giggle. "I'm told it's one of the most _cliché_ phrases out there." And with that Lyssa finally broke down into laughter.

Chloe groaned as she put her head in her hands.

Great. This was supposed to be one of the most important moments of her life. And, instead of her kwami kindly cluing her in, she had to be mean about it and mock her when she was trying her hardest. And if she couldn't even remember a simple phrase like this then why did she let herself believe that she could ever be—

"Chloe," Lyssa's soft voice jolted Chloe from her thoughts. She became aware of Lyssa's tiny hands gently trying to pry her own from where they had started to grip her hair too tightly. She immediately dropped them to dangle on either side of her. She could feel Lyssa trying to make eye contact with her but she refused.

"Chloe, honey, look at me." Turning away, she shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest. Lyssa sighed. "I'm sorry for laughing. I should have realized that you were sensitive—"

Chloe did her best to ignore the embarrassed tears that were stinging her eyes. "I'm not sensitive."

"Whether you are, or are not, it was still inappropriate for me to make fun of you like that. I apologize for hurting your feelings like that."

Chloe's eyes darted over to Lyssa. She expected to find the apology to be part of the joke, but all she found was remorse in the droop of her antenna. She wanted to stay mad, she really did, but as she finally made eye contact, she found a sincerity in Lyssa's eyes that she couldn't ignore.

Sighing, Chloe dropped her arms. "It's fine," she said, "I guess I'm just…"

"Nervous?" Chloe opened her mouth to object, but Lyssa continued before she could get a word in. "It's alright to be nervous! This is going to be your first fight, and it's a totally normal response to all of this. All you need to do is try your best and you'll do well— I just know it."

"O-Of course I will!" Chloe swiped across her eyes. "Just. Just give me the phrase already! We don't have time to waste!"

"Sure thing, Your Highness." Lyssa gently bopped her nose. She smiled as Chloe wrinkled it at the contact. "The magic words are 'stripes across'."

Chloe didn't hesitate this time. Standing tall, head held high, she balled her hands into fists and punched them into her hips as she shouted, "Lyssa, stripes across!"

Moments later, Lyssa flew to the top of Chloe's head and she was engulfed in golden sparkles. They cascaded down her form and left her superhero suit in their wake. As they dissipated, the new weight of her boomerang settling on her hip. Her wings tugging at her back as they unfurled caught her attention. Despite her previously secret excursions she was still getting used to all of the new sensations.

She might have stood there for a few moments more, but a loud crash somewhere in the building shook her from her thoughts.

Chloe ran for the door and flung it open. It flew into the wall with a loud crash, sending screws and debris everywhere. She cringed away from it as she remembered Lyssa's warnings about the element of surprise. She waited a few moments for the dust to settle before carefully peering into the hallway to see if she had attracted anyone's attention.

Finding it empty, Chloe crept into the hallway and began retracing her steps. At each corner she made a point to check each direction before moving forward. Thankfully it appeared as though most citizens had made it out of the immediate area and her path to the ballroom was clear of any obstacles.

Along the way the hallways had been eerily quiet aside from the distant sounds of battle. Aside from indistinct crashes, she couldn't make heads or tails of what was going on inside. As Chloe approached the entrance the sounds sharpened, but it wasn't until she peaked around the door jamb that she fully understood what was happening.

They were in trouble.

In the time that it had taken Chloe to transform, the landscape of the battlefield was far from what she had expected it to be. Instead of Ladybug and Chat Noir going toe to toe with Hawk Moth in an empty room, most of those who had returned to the hall were lethargically targeting the heroes who were standing on tables on opposite sides of the ballroom.

And, despite the chaos, Hawk Moth stood in the center unaffected.

"You know, all of this would be far simpler if you were to just surrender your Miraculouses."

"Fat chance, Hawk Moth!"

"Pity. Without your restorative magic there will surely be more destruction than necessary."

It appeared as though Ladybug was quite aware of that. While it was obvious that the citizens surrounding the tables were underneath his control, none of them were wearing the supersuits that their akuma counterparts did. Instead, they pawed at the feet of their heroes like zombies. Because of this, it was likely that they would be injured if too much force was used to deal with them.

"Why are you doing this?" Chat Noir called out as he parried a citizen away.

"I'm sure the two of you would love if I gave you a villainous monologue." He paused as a Ladybug's earrings chirped insistently. "But unfortunately we don't have the time."

He gave a gesture of his cane and, all at once, the citizens at Ladybug's feet lunged forward to immobilize her. Chat Noir tried his best to jump over his own crowd, but another gesture and his own group was forcing him to stay still.

Hawk Moth strode forward purposefully. Every step he took shot through Chloe urging her towards action. If there was ever a perfect opportunity for her to make a debut, this was it. But as she took a step away from her cover, she felt herself freeze.

There were a countless number of possible actions that she could take. She could free Chat Noir and the two of them could protect Ladybug. She could also try to square off with Hawk Moth and give Ladybug time to escape to re—

Recharge.

Before Chloe could think too much she shot straight up in the air.

She could feel Chat Noir and Ladybug's eyes latch onto her form the moment she was clear of her cover. Hawk Moth was much slower on the uptake, though. He continued to advance toward Ladybug with self-assured grace that tended to cling to all of the cocky men that Chloe had met in her life.

"Who-" Chat Noir began, but she immediately steamrolled over him.

"Recharge!"

There was a frightful moment when nothing seemed to happen, but then she felt the weapon on her hip suddenly double in weight. She nearly lost her balance in the air, but she righted herself before she could fall from the sky.

That seemed to gain the attention of her adversary because he immediately stopped dead in his tracks. Whirring around he gaped at her

"Who on earth are you?!" He shouted as he waved his cane.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Chloe sneered.

She then reached in and was surprised to find a bag of sugar. She wasn't sure what Mary Poppins magic allowed for such a large object to suddenly appear in her bag, but she didn't have time to question it because there was a sudden beam of purple light heading right for her.

"That's no way to talk to—"

"Well, unfortunately, you're not worth my time" Chloe closed the weapon and ripped it from where it hung It immediately morphed into the boomerang that she knew it to be. She sent it flying at him at the same moment that she dove straight at Ladybug.

There was a terrifying moment when Chloe wasn't sure if she was going to be able to pull up in time, but she found herself stopping just above Ladybug's head.

"Who-" Ladybug began, but Chloe ripped open the top of the bag and dumped it on her head in lieu of answering her. Ladybug immediately brought up her arm in an attempt to protect herself, but the sugar fell over her harmlessly.

As she blinked the granules out of her eyes, her suit gave off a warm orange glow. It remained bright for a few moments before settling back into her usual red. As the light dimmed, her earrings gave a small chirp and the spots that had disappeared returned.

Chloe heard a responding chirp come from the crown of her head. Now all she needed to do was turn around and face off with Hawk Moth while Ladybug summoned another lucky charm.

Unfortunately she didn't get a chance.

"Look out!" Ladybug yelled right before Chloe felt a white hot pain go through her spine. She was then sent flying forward toward a wall. She barely had time to brace herself before she was embedded into the surface. Gravity then decided to make itself known and pull her down into the ground, adding insult to injury.

"Insolent brat!" She heard Hawk Moth shout over the ringing in her ears. She lifted her head and tried to find where he was, but her vision blurred any time that she tried to focus on him. She felt her head pound with the beating of her heart and a dull throbbing in her back.

"…Is back? I…," Ladybug said from somewhere nearby. Her voice barely cut through the ringing in her ears and it took a lot to concentrate on what was being said. "… hold back"

"…you sure?"

"I don't… Hawk Moth… check on…"

"Roger."

Chloe's vision started to clear up just in time to watch Chat Noir and Ladybug shake off the civilians that held each of them captive. With the potential of having a free pass on fixing everything again, came the ability to no longer pull their punches and, within moments, Chat Noir was going toe to toe with Hawk Moth as Ladybug rushed over to where Chloe lay crumpled on the ground.

"Are you alright?" Ladybug asked as she knelt next to her.

"I—" Chloe coughed. "I think so."Her headache was starting to clear, though her back still ached. She tested her limbs and found that they were still useable. Without much hesitation she folded her legs underneath herself and stood up.

"Whoa, hey," Ladybug said as she moved to help her stand. "Don't push yourself too much. There's no telling what that beam was."

"I'm fine," Chloe said as she brushed off Ladybug's hands and did her best to stand unaided. Her soon-to-be-teammate frowned at her. "I-I mean, thanks?"

"You're welcome. Though I suppose I should thank—"

"Watch out!" Both heroines turned to find a table headed straight at them. Chloe jumped back at the same time that Ladybug somersaulted. Turning back to the battle at hand, Chloe found Hawk Moth attempting to fend off an attack from Chat Noir. She didn't know too much about swordplay, but it looked as though they were nearly matched in strength.

Oddly enough none of the brainwashed citizens were moving toward anyone.

"We can do pleasantries later," Chloe said, "Do you have a plan?"

"Not exactly," Ladybug said biting her lip.

Chloe's hand went to her hip for her boomerang and found empty air. She took a closer look at her surroundings and found it laying on the ground not too far away from where Chat Noir and Hawk Moth were now locked in close quarters combat. As soon as she became aware of it, the boomerang leapt from the floor and flung itself to her. On its way, it nearly knocked into one of the brainwashed citizens standing stock-still in the middle of the floor, but it corrected its course and landed harmlessly in her hand.

"Well, you've got an extra hand now. How about you hang back and come up with one while I help distract Hawk Moth." Chloe unfurled her wings. As they stretched out, she felt the pain in her back intensify. She did her best to not wince. "You've got your Lucky Charm back now so that might help."

"Alright, that's as good a plan as any." Ladybug wound up her arm and cast her yo-yo straight up in the air. "Lucky Charm!"

Chloe didn't stay long enough to see what item fell into Ladybug's hands. Instead, she flew straight up in the air and looked for an opening to throw her boomerang at Hawk Moth and avoid hitting Chat Noir. She pulled her arm back and was about to hurl it at her opponent when the dull ache in her back spiked.

She fell halfway back to the ground.

"Bee-girl!" Ladybug called. Chloe looked back, breathing heavily, to find Ladybug running toward her. "Change of plans, get down here!"

"I'm fine!" Chloe yelled back stubbornly. Without thinking too much, she sent her boomerang hurtling toward the blur of battle. Thankfully, her aim was true —or unbelievably lucky— and the black and yellow weapon struck Hawk Moth in the head and then flew back to her.

The blow forced him to look away from Chat Noir long enough to give him an edge on Hawk Moth. With practiced ease he slid his leg behind the taller man and sent him to the ground. As soon as Hawk Moth's back made contact with the ground Chat Noir brought his baton up and went to strike his opponent yet again. Unfortunately, Hawk Moth was only stunned momentarily and brought his cane up to intercept the attack.

Chloe was so engrossed in the battle that she didn't see the yo-yo coming.

Suddenly, she felt herself wrapped up in string and being yanked back toward the earth. She tried to fight it off, but Ladybug had the advantage and was able to bring her back to the ground. Chloe turned to glare at Ladybug, but found a look of disappointment etched onto the superheroine's face.

"Look," Ladybug said as she stalked over to Chloe. "We appreciate the assist, but it's obvious that you're hurt. I can't say that my Miraculous Cure is going to fix that because Chat Noir and I don't know _anything_ about Hawk Moth's power."

"But I—"

"No 'but's, Bee-girl." Ladybug released her yo-yo and shoved a small object into Chloe's hands. "You guard that while Chat and I try to take out Hawk Moth. If we need you we'll let you know, but for now just hang tight."

Ladybug didn't give her any chance to object before she was running off to assist her partner.

Chloe let out a frustrated cry and stamped her foot. She wanted to send the small object in her hands flying, but she had enough presence of mind to keep it safe in her grasp.

It wasn't fair! How was she supposed to be of any help on the sidelines? The whole reason why she was given the Bee Miraculous was to help Chat Noir and Ladybug.

Right?

Chloe felt helpless as she watched Ladybug enter the fray. Her return to battle seemed to give Hawk Moth pause. He called for the surrounding citizens to come to his aid, and Chloe held her breath as they surrounded the fight. But, without the fear of mortal injury, the duo sent the crowd flying and then returned immediately to bear down on their adversary.

The song and dance went on for about two rounds before Hawk Moth appeared to be tiring. It looked as though Ladybug and Chat Noir had him, but as the third wave of citizens went after them he used that opening to make a break for the side doors.

"He's getting away!" Chloe cried. She went to pursue him when a chime at the crown of her head sounded.

"Let him!" Ladybug yelled back. "We aren't in any shape to pursue him!"

"But—"

Suddenly all of the citizens fell to the ground. Chat Noir and Chloe froze at the sight, but Ladybug sprinted over to Chloe and wrenched the small object, a red and black polka dotted replica of her own bee comb, and sent it into the air with a cry of "Miraculous Ladybug!"

Just like earlier millions of ladybugs spread across the room, righting everything in their path. As the masses passed over the unconscious people laying on the floor, the ashen state of their faces were restored to healthier hues. All of the tables were righted and re-decorated. And, much to Chloe's personal relief, the pain in her back all but disappeared, leaving only a small ache.

"Thanks for the help earlier," Chat Noir said as he approached. "Not sure that we would have been able to scare off Hawk Moth without your help."

"Of course," Chloe said, her nose going up out of habit. "Though I wish we wouldn't have let him get away."

"Believe me. I wish that, too," Ladybug said with a cross of her arms. "But, there's no telling if we would have been able to take care of him in time."

Ladybug's miraculous gave a beep, seeming to agree with her.

"Right." Chat Noir said. "We should probably split off now before either of you de-transform."

"How about we meet up tomorrow at around midnight near Notre Dame? We can find some place more private afterwards."

Chloe went through her schedule in her mind. Most likely Sabrina would be gone in plenty of time due to the day after being Monday.

"That should work," Chloe said with a decisive nod.

"Awesome." Chat Noir stuck out a hand in her direction. "It was nice meeting you…"

Chloe's mind went blank. Of all the details that she and Lyssa had gone over, her superhero name had not been one of them. She blinked at the hand for a few moments before meeting it with her own. As she shook it she said the first thing that came to mind:

"Queen Bee."

* * *

A/N: Hello everyone! Thanks again for reading and for your patience! Life's been a bit busy, but I promise that I haven't forgotten about this story! In fact I actually have the next chapter almost finished, but there are some major tweaks that need to happen to that as well as some other major commitments that I am taking part in. I will plan on having it out within the next month, though. When I first started this story I had hopped that I would be able to upload every two weeks, but the pattern has been more around once a month so that's what I will commit to with you guys. Before the end of the year you'll get another chapter!

Also, thanks to Snavej for taking a look at this again!

And finally, I did want to let you guys know that I did write a few chapters of another piece for the miraculouspridezine. I've uploaded the first chapter already and will be uploading the second one in a little bit if you're interested. (if you're not that's cool, too, just thought I'd point you guys in the direction of some of the other content that I've been producing along side this story.

As always, please let me know what you think.(Especially in relation to the action part of this chapter. I haven't written many so far so any thoughts would be appreciated!) Thanks again for reading!


	10. Chapter 10

—

Chapter 10

 _i'll destroy everything i love_

* * *

"Well, thank you so much for your help, Queen Bee," Chat Noir said. He pulled his hand back and gave her a small salute.

"Are you going to stick around for the rest of the gala?" Chloe asked.

"I probably will for a short time. What about you, my Lady?"

"Yeah. I think it's a good idea to make sure that there aren't any other surprises."

"Alright. How about we go to that room and get our kwamis fed." Chat Noir turned to Chloe. "Do you have a place to de-transform?"

"O-of course I do!" Chloe said with a nod.

"Good. We'll see you soon!" Ladybug said with a wave as she and her partner ran in the direction of the reception room.

Chloe spun on her heel and took off in the opposite direction. It would have been nice if she could have taken advantage of the fruit there for Lyssa, but it was likely that she would detransform before then. Besides, she had back up fruit in her purse. That would be enough for now right?

As she stepped into the hallway her Miraculous began to beep insistently. She wasn't sure exactly how much time she had left so she took advantage of her wings and flew to the end of the corridor where two employee bathrooms were located.

She tried the women's door first, but found that it wouldn't budge. Huffing in annoyance, she then tried the men's restroom. It opened without any resistance.

She hesitated for a moment, but then there was a tingling sensation at the tips of her toes. She ignored her feelings of unease and pushed forward. However embarrassing it might be to be caught coming out of the men's restroom it would pale in comparison to whatever would happen should someone else find out her identity.

Chloe slammed the door shut just as her transformation fell. The golden light lit up the the pitch black bathroom momentarily before it left Chloe blind to her surroundings.

"Ooof!" She heard Lyssa say as she fell onto the ground. Chloe fumbled for the light switch. The light flickered a few times before the soft hum of the fluorescent bulb filled the air. As her eyes adjusted to the light she found her kwami laying in a heap on the tile floor.

"Sorry," Chloe said as she scooped Lyssa into her hands. "Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine," Lyssa said with a small smile. "Just catch me next time, okay?"

"I'll try," Chloe said as she began rummaging through her purse. She found her phone, wallet, a few essentials... and two empty wrappers. She shot Lyssa a glare. "You ate all of your dried fruit, didn't you."

"I'm sorry," Lyssa said meekly. "I got hungry while all of you were eating dinner."

Chloe groaned. "But, those were for emergencies!"

Lyssa's antennas drooped. Chloe tried to stay stern, but found that she couldn't hold her annoyance for long. With an exaggerated sigh she gently placed Lyssa back in her purse.

"It's fine. It just might take a while for me to sneak some fruit to you."

"Thank you," Lyssa said.

"Yeah, yeah."

Chloe was about to close the clasp on her purse when she felt a gentle pat on her finger. Looking down she found Lyssa smiling up at her.

"What?"

"You did a good job today. Especially for your first time."

Chloe blinked. "You really think so?"

"Of course! I've known many heroes who ran away the first time that responsibility came knocking on their door. And, instead of doing that, you chose to jump right into it! I'm so proud of you."

Chloe's heart warmed at Lyssa's words. She'd heard many words of praise over the years, but she could count on one hand the amount of times that someone had said that they were proud of her. Her cheeks warmed.

"Let's get you that fruit," Chloe said in an attempt to ignore her feelings. Lyssa nodded her head and retracted her arm back inside of the purse.

Chloe closed it with a click and then went about exiting the restroom. Hopefully all of the servants were off doing their jobs. As she opened the door she looked in one direction and found the hall empty. She was about to let out a sigh of relief when she suddenly found one of the staff leaning against the opposite wall.

A surprisingly familiar staff member.

"Chloe?" Nathanael asked as he pushed off the wall in surprise. "What are you doing here? What are you doing in the men's bathroom?"

"I… I had a makeup emergency after the akuma attacks. And, because the woman's restroom was locked I had to make due" Chloe said as she crossed her arms. "And what are _you_ doing here? I didn't see you waiting tables earlier."

"That's because I work in the kitchens."

"Doing what?"

"Does it matter? I'm pretty sure you have more important places to be."

Chloe rolled her eyes. "Whatever, Kutzblurb." She brushed past him and did her best to look more haughty than nervous. It seemed as though he'd bought it, but she had only made it a step when she heard him mumble something. She whirled around.

"What did you say?"

"Kurtzberg," Nathanael's eyes flashed. "My last name is Kurtzberg."

Chloe blinked at him in surprise. Isn't that what she'd said? She replayed their short interaction back in her head and realized that she had, in fact, said his name wrong. Usually she would manipulate a person's last name in an attempt to be clever, but in her rush to leave she'd butchered the name instead.

But he didn't need to know that.

"Kurtzberg, Schmucksberg. It doesn't matter because, as you said, I have somewhere more important to be. And that most certainly isn't wasting my time talking to a _busboy_ like you."

Without another moment's hesitation, Chloe rushed off in the direction of the ballroom. She could tell that she'd gone farther than necessary in her attempt to avoid embarrassment, but she truly didn't have time to waste worrying about something like that.

So, she didn't.

Instead, Chloe kept her eyes open for any form of fruit as she made her way back toward the ballroom. There were many carts strewn along the hallway with various types of items on them ranging from decorations to dirty dishes. There were even a few carts with leftover food on them, but not a single piece of fruit in sight.

Chloe had nearly given up hope as she approached the direction that she would need to go in order to meet up with the others when a small cart caught her eye. It was quite noticeably meant for the bar and she nearly passed over it. But, as she looked amongst the bottles of over-priced liqueur she spotted a small jar of maraschino cherries.

Her hand hovered over the jar for a moment as the thought of just how messy they would be occurred to her. The juice alone would be impossible to control. She glanced around once more in an attempt to find a better option. But, when Chloe found none, she picked it up and shoved it into her purse with a hushed "don't spill" thrown in as well.

She almost expected someone to notice her theft, but a quick cursory glance around the hall found no servers in sight. Grateful for her good luck, Chloe closed her purse with a decisive click and continued her journey to the ballroom at a clipped pace.

Chloe stopped short of the entrance. Servers were in the process of tearing down the room. Some carried the previous contents of the tables. Others were removing tablecloths, leaving the tables completely bare. Ariel stood amongst her staff and, though it seemed as if it were pure chaos, it looked as though she knew exactly where to direct her staff. It was like watching a conductor leading the string section through a particularly dynamic section.

It was mesmerizing.

It took her a few moments to tear her eyes away from the flurry of movement to survey the rest of the room. She found a few guests milling about the room, but she couldn't seem to find any of the faces that were important to her.

There was no sign of Ladybug, Chat Noir, her father, even Sabrina was—

Chloe gasped as she felt an wave of ice cold water fall down her back and form a frozen knot of anxiety in her stomach. Immediately, Chloe spun on her heel and rushed off to release her friend from her makeshift holding cell. She wasn't exactly sure how she was going to explain to Sabrina why she had locked her in the closet, but surely she would forgive her, right?

Chloe rounded the corner for what felt like the millionth time that day only to pull up short.

On the ground was the mop that she had used to bar the door broken in two. Splinters littered the floor and crunched under her feet as she approached the open closet door with trepidation. The knot in her stomach tightened when she found it empty.

Where was Sabrina?

The sound of voices caught Chloe's attention. She couldn't quite make out what they were saying, but they were coming from the reception room. Chloe walked as quickly as her shoes would allow. As she approached the doorway the voices gradually became clearer.

"And you're sure that's what happened?" Her father asked.

"Y-yes," Sabrina said as Chloe walked through the door. She was about to say more when her attention was drawn to Chloe's figure. Their eyes locked. Sabrina's eyes flashed recognition, fear, and then something completely unreadable before she flinched and cast her gaze to the ground. Then the floor, her father, the refreshment table... Anywhere but at best friend.

Chloe, on the other hand, couldn't look away from Sabrina.

Sabrina's previously immaculate dress had stains on the train as well multiple rips. The tracks of her makeup easily betrayed the amount of tears that she had shed in the time that they had been apart. What was most jarring, though, was the myriad of bruises and scratches on her arms and hands. One of which was cradled her elbow gingerly.

"Chloe." André said as he stood from where he had been sitting across from Sabrina. There were a lot of emotions in that one word. She couldn't name all of them, but it was quite apparent that he was quite upset. "I'm going to give you one opportunity to explain yourself."

"W-What do you mean, Daddy?"

"Sabrina says that when the two of you ran away after Hawk Moth's appearance that you hurt her."

Chloe took a step back. "I-I didn't. I wouldn't. I would never—!"

"Chloe Noëlle Bourgeois!" Her father yelled. Chloe gasped as her she watched a vein in her father's head pulse. "This isn't some trivial school matter! Tell me: did you or did you not push Sabrina into that closet and lock her inside?"

Chloe could clearly picture the scenario in her head. They had been walking towards the exit when she had spun and pushed Sabrina into the closet. She barely caught her friend's look of surprise before slamming the door shut and jamming it with the mop.

But, throughout the memory, she couldn't find a single image of Sabrina being hurt. She had been clearly seen her standing and okay as the door had shut. And, while Chloe wasn't a doctor, she was quite sure that there was no way that she could have been hurt to this degree from simply falling down.

Chloe scanned the room searching for an answer. As her eyes moved around the room she was surprised to find that she had missed the rest of the rooms occupants: Ladybug, Chat Noir, Gabriel Agreste, and Nathalie Sancoeur. They were standing apart from the confrontation, but it was quite clear that they were all paying close attention.

Bile rose in Chloe's throat as all she could find was Ladybug's disappointed gaze.

"Yes, I pushed her into the closet. But! But, there's no way that she would have—"

"I think we've heard enough, André," Gabriel said as he and Nathalie broke away from the group surveying the scene to rest a hand on the back of the couch that Sabrina was sitting on. "As I said earlier, I believe that it would be in your best interest to allow Nathalie and I to escort Miss Raincomprix to the hospital while you send your daughter home. I don't imagine that her father would take too kindly to having her attacker going along for the ride."

"I imagine not." André brought a hand to massage his scalp for a moment before turning to the injured girl in question. "Sabrina, dear, does that sound alright to you?"

Sabrina kept her eyes glued to the ground. She opened her mouth, closed it, and then bit her lip. It seemed as though she had something to say, but a cough from Gabriel startled her into sitting up straight and looking André in the eye.

"T-That sounds like a plan, I-I guess." She winced and belatedly cradled her arm to her chest at her quick movement.

"Sabrina?" Ladybug asked, "Would you like us to go with you for moral support?" Ladybug began walking towards her.

"No!" Sabrina burst out startling everyone in the room, including herself. Her eyes had blown wide at her exclamation. She moved to bring her right hand up to cover her mouth, but faltered as her injury made itself abundantly clear. She cleared her throat. "I-I-I mean I wouldn't possibly want to bother either of you and. And I'm sure that I-I'll be fine."

Ladybug carefully continued to approach Sabrina as she spoke. "It wouldn't be a bother, I promise you."

"Yeah," Chat Noir chimed as he tried to mask his concern with one of his usual smiles. "Besides it's the least that we could do."

"We have the room," Nathalie said as she looked to Gabriel. They shared a look before her employer nodded decisively.

"Then if it's decided, we should leave immediately," Gabriel said. "Nathalie, call Miss Raincomprix's father and inform him as to which hospital we will be going to."

He turned to address André. "I assume that I should have them send you the bill?"

"Of course. I'll call Jacques to pack up her things and take them to the hospital as well."

"Would you like me to carry you?" Chat Noir asked in a jovial tone.

"N-No I can—"

"He doesn't bite, I swear," Ladybug cut in with a wink. "Besides I doubt that you want to try to walk in broken heels."

Sabrina looked down and seemed to notice her destroyed footwear for the first time. She stared at them for a few moments before looking back up at Chat Noir.

"Y-you don't mind?"

"Of course not!" The superhero walked around the coffee table into position. "Ready?"

Sabrina nodded.

"Up we go!" He said cheerily as he did his best to carefully pick up Sabrina. It wasn't too noticeable, but while it was obvious that whoever was underneath the mask was strong enough to carry the other girl, he wasn't quite as graceful about it as he would have been with his powers.

Ladybug hovered nearby ready to assist if need be as Chat Noir turned to face Gabriel. "Where to?"

"Follow me."

As they group left, Gabriel turned to André. "Perhaps _this_ will prove to you that you should re-evaluate your parenting techniques."

Her father bristled. It looked as though he wanted to refute Gabriel's claim, but Gabriel left before André could get a single word in.

Chloe found herself at a loss for words as she stepped back to allow the group to leave. She could feel tears stinging her eyes as the overwhelming unfairness of it all began closing in on her. Why didn't anyone believe her?

"I'm also going to call the chauffeur to take you home," André said as he brought his phone up to his ear and turned away aggressively. "Don't expect to attend any other events the rest of this year."

"Daddy," Chloe pleaded, "I—"

"Jacques?" André said into his phone as he began walking away from her.

Chloe listened listlessly as the memory replayed over and over again in her mind. There had to be something that she was missing.

There just _had_ to be!

André let out a long sigh as he ended the call.

"I hope you understand the type of position that you've put yourself in, Chloe. Not only is Sabrina hurt, but it is likely that her father is going to want to press charges against you. I've done my best to protect you in the past, but I don't know if there is any way to do that with so many witnesses"

"Daddy," Chloe tried one more time, " _Please_. You have to believe me. I swear that I'd never hurt Sabrina like that. I—"

"That's enough, Chloe."

"But—"

 _"Enough!"_

Chloe fell into the wall in shock. Of all the times her father had been upset with her, he had never raised so much as his tone. His voice rang loud in the small space and towered over her in a way that she had never noticed before. In that moment, Chloe felt a fear that she had never felt once in her life.

André stood imposingly over her for a few moments before he took a deep breath and stepped away from her. His momentarily imposing stature returned to normal and he brought his hand to rub at his temples.

"We'll talk about this later. The chauffeur is waiting for you out front."

A guilty look passed over her father's face. It looked as though he wanted to apologize, but instead he avoided her gaze. He picked up a clipboard, two small boxes, and a gift bag and exited the room.

Chloe didn't leave until half an hour later.

* * *

[A/N: Thanks for reading! So, in a way, this chapter is the end of the first arc of this story! It's crazy to think that this is only about one-third of the way in, but I've gotta say that I'm excited for everything that is to come! I have quite a bit planned, though I must admit that if you have anything thoughts for what is to come I would very much appreciate it since there are some details in this middle section that could be lengthened or shortened depending on what you guys are feeling. For example if you guys like more of the action more of the superhero type things could be lengthened, but if you're more interested in the character relationships those could be lengthened! (If both then I guess we're just in for a long-haul XD). So, if you'd like to influence this story in anyway that's a bit more direct, now's the time to chime in!

Also, I know it's been a while, but life's been super rough. I'm not going to get into everything, but basically I'm doing my best to look for a new job and so most of my attention has to go towards that. I'm also doing my best to work through burn out so writing has been a very hard thing to accomplish lately. Thanks so much for all of your guys' understanding throughout all of this. It really means a lot that none of you come banging on my door/inbox to demand updates like I've seen others do. If I'd had that kind of pressure who knows if I'd have made it this far. (Now if you just want to strike up a conversation about anything else, I'm totally up for it!)

Anyways, thanks, as always, for reading! Hope you all have a good day!


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

 _i wish I could read your mind, instead i gotta read your eyes_

* * *

"Miss Chloe?" Jacques called as he poked his head into her suite.

He had been knocking and calling to her for the past half hour. She had heard him every time, but Chloe _really_ didn't want to go to school today. So, in an effort to pull off a successful sick day, she had ignored him and elected to stay in bed.

She could hear his loafers clicking on the marble flooring of her foyer. He hesitated for a moment, calling for her again, before turning towards her bedroom. His footfalls muffled and soon he was on her side of the bed shaking her gently.

She counted to ten before she groaned and opened her eyes.

"Miss Chloe, what are you still doing in bed?"

"I'm not feeling too well, Jacques." She punctuated her statement with a lengthy cough and a groan. "I don't think that I can go to school today."

He sighed and pulled her covers away with a flick of his wrist. It took everything in her to not screech at the sudden temperature change. She moaned and curled in on herself instead. In her experience, it was a far more believable ploy.

"I'm sorry, Miss Chloe, but your father told me that you are to go to school today no matter what. "

"But I'm _sick,"_ she whined. "Daddy wouldn't—"

"I imagine that your punishments will be far worse if I tell your father that you are trying to get out of school by playing hooky."

Chloe whipped around and stared at Jacques in fear.

The day after the gala André had decided to be quite firm with his daughter. For the first time in her life, instead of a slap on the wrist, Chloe found herself scolded to the point that she didn't know what to do with herself. And then, to top it all off, he told her that she was _grounded_.

She didn't know a lot about being 'grounded', but she was quite sure that even according to her peers her restrictions were quite severe. As to be expected, she couldn't go to any activities outside those for school. But the point at which it became ridiculous was her father taking away _everything_ aside from her school tablet for the next week. When she had pointed out that he should let her keep her phone in case of an emergency…

He had handed her a flip phone that had emergency numbers pre-programmed into it and told her that she could do with a break from social media anyways.

She couldn't even imagine what could be worse than this.

The stern look in Jacques eyes softened slightly. "If you get ready right now I promise not to mention your tardiness to your father. I'll be back with your breakfast in a few minutes. Please be dressed by then."

Chloe waited for the door to close before she threw herself from her bed. Stumbling over her own feet, she could feel Lyssa come to hover beside her, but she refused to look at her.

"I told you that it would be better to not risk lying about being sick."

She sent a scathing glare at the kwami as she ripped a simple dress off its hanger. "I don't have time to argue with you. Just go hang out in that brown leather satchel until we get to school."

Slightly miffed, Lyssa flew off to the satchel that was hanging on the back of her closet door.

Normally she would take the time to find the right accessories to make it something as plain as the olive green shift dress in her hands worth wearing, but she was short on time. The bag and designer boots would have to be good enough for today.

Stalking over to her vanity, she looked at the time on her "dumbphone" and groaned. Her makeup would have to be simple as well. She hated doing the 'natural' look because it was just a way for people to get away with being lazy with their makeup. But, considering the fact that she had less than fifteen minutes to get ready, she had little choice.

She couldn't be sure how long Jacques had been standing there waiting to gain her attention, but apparently he had grown impatient because suddenly he cleared his throat. It was a miracle that Chloe didn't poke her eye out with her eyeliner pencil, because the sudden sound in the uncomfortable silence of her room startled her considerably.

"My apologies, Miss Chloe, but you need to finish up. Your father is requesting to speak with you before you go to school."

It took everything in her to keep from growling at her butler. "Do you know what he wants?"

"He didn't say. Your breakfast will be waiting for you in the limo. I will be out front once you have finished speaking with him."

"Fine." Chloe knew that she was probably being unreasonably curt with him, but she had to, at the very least, finish her eyeliner. There was no way that she was going to be caught dead at school with only one eyebrow lined.

She positioned the comb at the back of her head and then took stock of her appearance. It was drastically plainer than what she normally wore, but it would have to do for today. Packing away the rest of her makeup in hopes of having time to polish it a bit more, Chloe checked that she had everything for school. Once satisfied, she made her way to her father's office.

Normally Chloe would have strutted into her father's office, but this morning, she entered with far less gusto. Her father's face, which had been stern since Saturday night, had lost some of its edge through the night. He gestured for her to shut the door and sit across from him. He waited for her to be settled before speaking.

"I know you're on your way to school so I'll be brief, but I just got off the phone with Mr. Raincomprix."

Chloe froze. She knew her father had been attempting to contact Sabrina's father all day Sunday, but he'd had no luck aside from a curt promise to call him Monday morning. While scolding, again, André had outlined many of the plausible consequences that would likely come about. And, now, all of them were going through her head at lightning speed.

Would they press charges? File a restraining order? Sue her and her father? Request that she transfer. Never let her see Sabrina ever ag—

"Thankfully, Sabrina's elbow was only severely sprained. Considering that the injury wasn't as bad as we all thought it was going to be, her parents have decided to forego pursing any legal action."

Chloe breathed out a sigh of relief.

"That being said," her father said, the stern look returning to his normally amicable face. She'd be surprised if he didn't have more wrinkles before all of this was resolved. "They are requesting that you not be allowed to be around Sabrina unsupervised. That means no more shopping trips, slumber parties, or any other activities that are not supervised by an adult."

"But—"

"Their conditions are non-negotiable. If you want to continue to attend the same school and work on mending your friendship with Sabrina then I would suggest that you respect her parent's wishes, understood?"

"But I d—"

 _"Understood?"_

Chloe flinched at her father's tone. It wasn't quite as sharp as it had been on Saturday, but it still hurt to hear.

"Yes," she whispered.

"Good. Now you'd better head to school otherwise you'll be late. I'll see you at dinner."

Chloe barely heard the end of his statement because, the moment he mentioned the word school, Chloe took off towards the front of the building where Jacques was waiting. She was vaguely aware that her eyes were burning, but she did everything to push them down. She wouldn't cry.

She didn't have the time to reapply her makeup, after all.

* * *

Part of Chloe hoped Sabrina would have changed her story by the time that she arrived at school. Or even keep what had happened a secret and made an excuse for her injury. Or, at the very least, keep it a secret until she had a chance to talk to her and find out exactly what _had_ happened to her.

But, unfortunately, it appeared as though nothing was meant to go Chloe's way today.

The moment that she entered homeroom, Chloe knew that a majority of the class had heard about what had supposedly happened over the weekend. Their usual looks of disinterest or vague annoyance had sharpened considerably. Most telling of all, though, was how the crowd around Sabrina's desk immediately went from being concerned over Sabrina and defensive towards her.

Out of habit she moved to sit beside her best friend, but Alix stepped away from the group and marched right up to her before she could get more than two steps into the room.

"Think again, blondie," she said as she crossed her arms and planted her feet. The shorter girl hooked a finger towards the back of the class room. "Nath is going to take my seat, you're taking his, and I'm taking yours. Sabrina told us what happened and you'll have to crawl over my dead body before I let you anywhere near her. Understood?"

Chloe ground her teeth. "This doesn't concern you."

"Oh, but it does. It concerns me a lot that you hurt Sabrina bad enough that someone is going to have to write out all her homework for her for almost a whole month. Apparently it's a miracle that she didn't end up with a cast because of you."

Chloe's eyes flew to Sabrina. The other girl refused to meet her gaze, but the bandages surrounding her arm and the sling that held it in place were clear to see. She couldn't suppress a wince at the sight.

"Well obviously I'm be best person for that job," Chloe tried. She had to get close enough to Sabrina to find out the truth. If she was helping to do her homework then...

"I already volunteered," Marinette said as moved down from where she had been standing beside Sabrina. There was a bite to her tone and the intense look that she levelled Chloe with was one of the most intimidating she had ever seen in her whole life.

And Chloe knew intimidating.

"We—well I'm Sabrina's—"

"Sabrina's what? Best Friend?" Marinette laughed haughtily as she took another step forward. "I don't think you know what a best friend really is. Best friends don't hurt each other like you hurt Sabrina last Saturday. So why don't you—"

"And what, pray tell, do you know about what happened, Marinette Dupain-Cheng," Chloe spat. She knew that she should probably be careful with how she was speaking, but she didn't care.

She was beyond caring at this point.

Chloe muscled her way past Alix and got into Marinette's face, seething. "You weren't _there._ You don't know what happened. So don't pretend like you know anything because you don't."

"Yeah, well Sabrina—"

"Is _lying_."

Chloe looked past Marinette and stared directly in Sabrina's eyes. Throughout the whole argument her friend, if she could even call her that anymore, hadn't said a word. Even now, in the face of her accusation, all she did was stare resolutely at her desk and fiddle with a chain around her neck with her good hand. Her face had been mostly blank, but at Chloe's cutting words she flinched.

Chloe opened her mouth to call her out, but someone yanking on her wrist made her squeak instead. She was barely able to keep herself from stumbling as she was forcibly lead out of the classroom. The moment they were outside of the classroom the hand left her as if it'd been burned. Then, before she knew what was happening, Adrien's angry face was inches away from hers.

"Don't you think you've done enough?" He asked, rhetorically. "Can't you see that you're just adding insult to injury here?"

She pushed him out of her personal space with a finger to his chest. "But, Sabrina is spreading slander about me!"

"And what proof do you have that she's lying?"

Chloe opened her mouth, but found her voice failing her. She didn't have any concrete evidence. There were only two people who could corroborate her story. One was lying and the other no one could know existed. How on earth could she prove her innocence when the facts, unfairly, had to be kept a secret?

"Exactly." He said as he crossed his arms. "No one is going to believe you without proof because you haven't given them any reason to. You've been mean to Sabrina and countless others. And you're known to lie in order to get out of trouble. Why on earth would they believe you over Sabrina in a situation like this?"

"Y-you believe me at least, right? You know I'd never hurt someone like that! A-and besides, Sabrina is my best friend, aside from you. It's utterly ridiculous for anyone to think that I'd do something like… like _that_ to her."

"I honestly wish that I could believe you," Adrien sighed. "But, ever since I started attending public school I've seen you manipulate everyone to get what you want, including Sabrina. I want to think that you wouldn't hurt her like that, but if she got in your way… I honestly don't know what you would do."

"I'd never hurt Sabrina like that. I—" Chloe choked up.

There were vague feelings and words that wanted to spill from her lips like the tears that finally fell down her face, but she swallowed them. They had no place in this conversation. So, she let others out instead.

"S-She's my best friend. My o-only friend besides… besides…"

She wanted more than anything to say that Adrien was her friend, too. She really did. But, standing before him right now, she couldn't say it with nearly as much confidence as she used to.

And that scared her.

"Me?" Adrien asked.

"Look, Chloe. As a… friend." She could see how the term made Adrien uncomfortable. She knew that he was weighing his words carefully in an attempt to find balance between being truthful and not hurting her feelings. On one hand she appreciated how kind and caring Adrien was.

But on the other she wished he'd just say he hated her and gave up on pretending to be her friend.

"I'm going to give you some advice," he continued. Take responsibility for your actions and apologize to Sabrina. You're right, no one was there to see exactly what happened, but that doesn't change the fact that Sabrina is hurt. And yelling at her won't make that go away. Besides—"

"Is everything okay over here?" Mr. Martin asked.

Chloe whipped her head around to see her homeroom teacher standing a few feet away. She immediately started aggressively wiping at her face. She wasn't sure when she'd started crying, but all she wanted was for them to go away.

"Everything's just peachy," Chloe spat.

"Why don't you go ahead, Adrien? We'll be in shortly."

"Yes, sir." He took a couple of steps and then stopped to put a hand on her shoulder. "At least consider what I said, okay Chlo?"

"Okay," she said quietly. He gave the shoulder a small squeeze before moving along. She watched him go before turning to her teacher. She met his gaze for all of three seconds before finding the floor infinitely more interesting.

"I imagine that this has to do with the situation this weekend?" Mr. Martin prompted.

Chloe refused to answer vocally, but gave a small nod.

Mr. Marin sighed, "I imagine that most everyone has lectured you at this point. So, I won't be doing that."

Chloe felt a bit of the tension in her shoulders leave her. She hadn't even noticed that she was bracing herself for another verbal lashing until he showed her a bit of mercy.

"That being said, I did want to let you know that Sabrina's father called earlier and requested that you no longer sit beside Sabrina. In any of your classes. Because of that, I'll be assigning seats to everyone. It's something I had been considering for a while since many of your peers struggle to pay attention, so if you receive any retaliation please speak to me and I will take care of it."

The likelihood of her classmates becoming upset because of this was quite high. Especially if any of them were to be assigned a seat beside her. Alix had made it quite clear from the swap that she thought that Chloe should be forced to sit by herself at the very back of the room.

Perhaps that's what would be best.

"Just… assign me to the back without anyone," Chloe said glumly.

Mr. Martin frowned. "How about we try my arrangement first. If it doesn't work, then we'll think about other solutions. Now let's go in. We're already late."

Chloe let him take the lead and followed him into the classroom. Everyone was engaged in their own conversations. Some noticed their entrance, but for the most part they were so engrossed that they didn't fully pay attention until Mr. Martin cleared his throat.

"Good morning, everyone. I know that there was a lot of excitement this weekend—"

"You could say that again," Alix muttered.

"That being said," Mr. Martin continued, ignoring Alix's comment, "I've noticed that many of you have struggled to pay attention during homeroom. Because of that, I'd like to try a new seating arrangement. So please gather your belongings, come to the front of the room, and then sit in the seat I assign you."

There was general complaining, but thankfully Chloe's classmates didn't seem too upset with the new arrangement. Mr. Martin must have put a lot of thought into it. Most of the friend groups were broken up without completely incompatible people being seated beside each other.

Chloe didn't exactly appreciate the ridiculously positive attitude that Rose had all of the time. In fact, it was downright annoying at times. But, out of all of her classmates, Rose seemed the least hostile towards her.

Which was a blessing all on its own.

Mr. Martin was the most thoughtful out of all of her subsequent teachers that day, though. All of them, aside from Mrs. Rousseau who had split the two of them up on day one, implemented a seating change to varying degrees of success. Literature was bearable, Max merely seemed annoyed to be split from Kim.

History, on the other hand, was an absolute _nightmare_. The teacher, a spindly old woman who loved coffee more than anything else, sat her beside Alix. The other girl had made it her mission to make Chloe's life hell now and spent a majority of her time glaring at her instead of paying attention to the lecture.

The only solace that Chloe found throughout the day were the snatches of conversation that she caught in relation to her debut as a hero.

Overall, it seemed that everyone was excited to find out more about Queen Bee. Chloe overheard Alya gushing to Marinette multiple times about the new heroine. Max theorized about how powerful she was in comparison to Ladybug and Chat Noir. She even caught Nathanael sketching her hero outfit right before art class.

But despite the hype, it couldn't temper the frustration that she felt over the whole situation with Sabrina. No matter how hard she tried to talk to her best friend, she just _couldn't._ She tried approaching her multiple times throughout the day, but Alix made a point to make each endeavor outright impossible.

She tried to stop her in between classes by her locker, but Alix easily guided Sabrina away before she could even get two words out. She blocked her path when she'd tried to approach her in mixed company. She'd even set up a makeshift perimeter out of their classmates during lunch.

If she could just _talk_ to her best friend, alone, then perhaps she could get to the bottom of this farce. But, as she quickly found out, that was going to prove to be one of the most challenging tasks that she had ever undertaken. By the time that the day was almost three-fourths of the way through, she finally had to admit defeat. There was no way that she was going to be able to talk to Sabrina.

At least not today.

* * *

A/N: Hey everyone. It's been awhile hasn't it? Life got a bit turbulent since the last time I was able to update this. I'm not going to get into all of it, but heartache, burn out (due to fandom and my overnight job), and life in general just got bad enough that I just couldn't write _anything_ for this. I'm pretty sure I rewrote this chapter like... three or five times because nothing sounded good.

I'm still not one hundred percent back, but I think that the time I took away from this did me a world of good. And, good news! I got a new day job so I won't be nearly as stressed. In fact, between being awake and alive during normal people hours and being able to see a majority of the people I love more, I've been significantly re-energized. (I actually wrote so much for this chapter that I decided to split it in half!) able to write enough that I was able to write enough to split it between two chapters. I'll be pacing it a bit so that I can pace myself while writing it. I'm hoping it'll help with the longevity of this fic and my overall writing health.

Lastly, I just wanna say thank you to everyone who's had patience enough to wait for more of this. I understand how frustrating it can be to have to wait months for an update, but I hope that the time I took will help to do justice to this story. So thank you and I can't wait to keep sharing this story with all of you.


	12. Chapter 12

_build your home brick by boring brick_

* * *

Chloe nearly threw herself across the back seats of her limo in her rush to escape the campus. Jacques raised a curious eyebrow at her, but didn't comment. She was grateful for that. She'd had enough of those today.

As relieved as she was to watch the school disappear, being home wasn't much better.

A majority of her time after school was painfully boring. Her father established that she was required to have monitored homework time to make sure that she was staying on task. As she stared at her text books, pretending to read, she wondered how on earth Adrien put up with this type of treatment for so long.

He'd mentioned it before. How Nathalie or one of his tutors was always there while he studied because apparently his father couldn't trust him to do it on his own. She'd asked him about it a few times, but he always brushed it off saying that he was used to it by now.

As she turned the page of her text book she wondered how true that really was.

It seemed like forever before she was able to take a break for dinner. Normally she and her father would talk non-stop about their days, but tonight there was an oppressive silence. There were loads of things going unsaid between them, but neither of them wanted to speak any of it aloud.

Chloe, especially.

Once she was finished eating, far sooner due to a lack of appetite, she sat and waited for her father to dismiss her. Any other time she would excuse herself, but she had no bearings as to whether her father would find more punishment to dish out if she were to do so.

Thankfully he didn't keep her too long. After a short reminder to _behave at school_ , he dismissed her and she took her leave gratefully. Once in her room, though, Chloe soon found the space suffocating. Lyssa attempted to make conversation with her, but she wasn't really in the mood to listen to the kwami's inane chatter. All Chloe wanted to do was unwind from the very stressful day, but all she had for entertainment were a few magazines that she'd read hundreds of times and stuffy books that she wouldn't be caught dead reading.

She was going to go insane before the end of this.

Eventually, Chloe couldn't stand it anymore. Groaning, she threw the magazine that she had been attempting to read onto the floor. The action was so sudden that it startled Lyssa from her peaceful perch on Chloe's bed to burying herself under the covers.

After a few moments the kwami peeked her head out.

"Chloe?"

"I'm so bored, Lyssa!" Chloe yelled as she stomped on top of the glossy pages. "What does he expect me to do? Go to bed early? Read novels? Write in a journal?"

"All of those are valid ways to constructively deal with your frustration," Lyssa said calmly. "You could also go exercise—"

"That's a great idea," Chloe deadpanned, "I'll just go run on a treadmill, staring at a blank wall, in silence. I'm sure _that_ will be exciting."

"Chloe, I understand that this isn't pleasant for you, but that doesn't mean that you have to be rude and interrupt me."

"Oh. I'm sorry. By all means. Tell me how to not be bored oh wise one." Chloe gave a fake bow. As she righted herself she crossed her arms and started tapping her foot as she stared down at the kwami.

Lyssa sighed. "As I was trying to suggest, perhaps you could spend some of your time exercising and training as Queen Bee in order to get rid of some of your energy. Now that Paris knows of your existence, you have a lot more freedom and don't need to worry about being seen by the press."

"... That's actually a great idea," Chloe said. Surprised, she let her arms fall to her side as she approached Lyssa. "I thought you were going to tell me to do something dumb like meditate or something."

"If you would like me to teach you, then..."

"No, no. I like your first idea. Lyssa: Stripes Across!"

Without wasting much time, Queen Bee made it look as though Chloe had fallen asleep already. Once finished, she flung herself from her balcony. It frightened her how quickly she dropped down story after story, but her wings were quick to unfurl and catch her before she could fall and injure herself.

There weren't many people out and about to notice her descent, but those that were putzing about stopped to gawk at her. She waved to the few that were out and about as she started flying around the city.

Chloe had been all over the city in her limo, but she had never seen it from above like this. Sure she had gone out and about a couple of times since receiving her Miraculous, but there was something about having the freedom to _be seen_ that made her appreciate the view even more.Especially from a height that she had never been at before.

It was all just _so pretty._ The sun was starting to set, casting peach and strawberry shadows across the city. She wished that she could take a picture and keep it forever. And, yet, she didn't mess with her purse to see if there was anything that could aid her. Maybe, when she got her phone back, she'd take it around with her so that she could marvel at them in the future.

But, for now, looking was enough.

Sometime later, after the sun had set but before all of the light had gone from the sky, Chloe decided to fly down and see some of the sights up close. She had been flying on the north side of the city, so she decided to land atop one of the Sacre Coeur's steeples to take in the sights.

There weren't a whole lot of people in this part of the city. Most of the tourists and churchgoers had left for the day. A few stragglers noticed her presence, but for the most part she was ignored. There was a part of her that felt a bit annoyed by how blasé these people were, but in a city where jump-suited people flying about were the norm… she wasn't all that surprised.

From where she stood she could clearly see the Eiffel Tower in the distance, but it was disorienting to look at. Because, from her vantage point, it looked to be small and inconsequential. Her mind couldn't wrap itself around that, knowing just how large it really was.

Shaking her head, Chloe decided to pay more attention to sights nearby. The gardens surrounding the church were well manicured and contrasted well with the masonry surrounding them. A few couples were standing on the observation deck that jutted out enough to give them a good view of the city. A man and his dog were jogging along the road that surrounded the church.

And a familiar shock of red hair bent over a sketch book.

Chloe did a double take to be sure, but it did appear as though Nathanael was sitting on one of the more secluded benches, sketching. She didn't know exactly what time it was, nor where it was exactly that he lived, but she was pretty sure that he wasn't supposed to be _here_ this late.

Normally, Chloe wouldn't care one bit about, but she was intrigued. Looking a bit closer, she noticed that he kept glancing up. He was probably sketching something nearby, then. But, as she looked longer, she noticed that he wasn't just looking up at one of the nearby fountains. Oh no, he was very obviously looking up far higher than that.

Was he looking at _her?_

Chloe's cheeks burned red. She was half tempted to confront him about it, but she'd had too much confrontation for today. So, instead, she let it go and took off in the direction of the Eiffel Tower.

She'd have to make her way back home soon. Knowing her luck, her father would choose to try to have a chat with her or something and discover the fact that she had left her room without permission. And, if that happened, there was no telling just how much trouble she would get into.

She landed on the tip of the tower a few moments before it began its nightly light show. It was a bit blinding so close, but it was still beautiful to behold. The lights made it difficult to see the city in the waning twilight, but she still found what she could see quite pretty.

"Good evening, Queen Bee!"

Chloe's head whipped around to find Chat Noir landing lightly beside her. His smile was as bright as ever, but he almost seemed a bit winded. Did he rush over to catch her or something?

"Hello, Chat Noir," she said carefully. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Well, I heard through the grape vine that you were out and about. Since we missed you yesterday, I thought I'd try to catch you."

She winced. So much had happened since Saturday that she'd completely forgotten about her promise to meet up with her new teammates.

"Sorry, something came up."

"That's okay! I can't tell you how many times I've struggled to find a place to transform because life-stuff got in the way. I'm sure that Ladybug has had to deal with it, too."

"What did you two want to talk about with me?"

"We mostly wanted to make sure you felt welcome, and knew the ground rules. Y'know the typical stuff that you'd go over with a new-bee."

Chloe groaned as he winked at her.

"Well, it was nice working with you," she dead-panned as she pretended to make her way to the edge.

"W-wait!" He scrambled to get to her before she could leave. "Please stick around. I—"

She sighed. "Don't worry I'm _not actually_ going anywhere. I'm just not really in the mood right now."

"Oh. Is everything okay?"

Chloe opened her mouth and nearly spilled everything about how much trouble she'd gotten into after her first transformation, but snapped it shut before she could. Chat Noir might be a new teammate of hers, and he seemed to be the type to be genuinely concerned, but he was a complete stranger to her.

So, instead of opening up, she clamped down even tighter.

"Just… a long day," she said carefully. "So, what did you have to go over?"

She turned around to face him and found him debating over what to say to her. It looked like he _really_ wanted to press her over what was wrong, but in the end he shook his head and answered her question.

"Mostly about how important it is to keep your identity a secret. You haven't told anyone your identity have you?"

"Of course not. Do you think I'm an idiot?"

"No. But it's still important to go over."

His accompanying frown made Chloe realize that what she'd said wasn't the response that he was looking for. Was it the tone or the words she'd used? It was hard to tell, and before she could ruminate on it too long he continued.

"I imagine that your kwami has gone over a lot of the reasons why it's important to not share identities, but we also wanted to stress how important it is to keep them a secret from each other, too."

"Wait, you and Ladybug don't know each other's identities?"

"No, we don't." It sounded as though he was a bit disappointed about that fact. "We still don't know if miraculous wielders can be akumatized or not, and, besides that, we all need a little bit of balance between our lives and superhero work, y'know?"

"I guess that makes some sense…" She crossed her arms. Yes, it made _some_ sense, but there were quite a few scenarios that came to mind where it wouldn't. It certainly explained how caged the two were around even each other during the gala. "But how do you coordinate or contact each other in an emergency?"

"We… manage. Also we're able to leave messages for each other on our weapons, which helps a lot."

"How do you do that?"

Chat cocked his head curiously. "We just… call each other? Here, I'll show you."

He pulled out his baton and tapped the paw print on it. A moment later it slid up a small degree to display a screen. He angled it so that she could see it better. On it was a rather simplistic display, but there was a call button. He tapped it and on the next screen a ladybug symbol and a bee symbol popped up. His eyebrows went up in surprise.

"I guess Plagg already added you in."

"Huh," Chloe said in consideration. She looked down to the satchel on her hip. Did that mean that if she tapped the yellow hexagon in the center that it would transform itself into a phone or something?

Deciding to try it out, she pressed into the center of the flower. At first it didn't do anything. But then, suddenly, it rearranged itself into a phone the size of the center hexagon and of the same shape. Swiping across the surface of the "phone", Chloe was greeted with Lyssa's version of her a smart phone. It was just as simplistic as Chat Noir's display, but there were a few other apps available. Deciding to investigate them later, she opened contacts and found Ladybug and Chat Noir listed.

"Anyways," Chat said. "If we're ever suited up and the other isn't, we just call each other and leave messages for each other. It's a little inconvenient at times, but it allows us to keep our identities safe while we communicate with each other.

"Have you ever tried getting fake numbers and using that?"

Chat Noir blinked. "We… hadn't thought of that."

Chloe scoffed.

"Hey give us a break! We don't know everything there is to know about this."

She stopped short. "You don't?"

"Well, no. It seems that kwamis like the 'learn as you go' approach to all of this. " He rolled his eyes. "I didn't even know what this baton did until I was using it. "

"That's because you didn't ask," Ladybug drawled as she landed beside the two of them.

Chloe immediately went rigid. "Ladybug! What a surprise!"

"Hi, Queen Bee. How have you been?"

"Oh, things have been swell!" Chloe pushed a blinding smile forward. She might feel conflicted over telling Chat Noir the truth, but not Ladybug. There was no way that she'd bother her hero with any of her problems.

Ladybug had better things to do than worry about her.

"That's good. We missed you yesterday, did something come up?"

"Yeah, sorry about that. I really wanted to make the meeting, but you know how family can be."

Ladybug smiled. "Yes, it can be hard to balance the two. Did you already give her the run down, Kitty?"

"Yup! I think she understands why keeping our identities is so important," Chat said.

"Did you bring up the idea of patrols?"

Chat shook his head. "I hadn't made it that far yet."

"What about patrols?" Chloe asked.

"Well," Ladybug began, "After what happened on Saturday we were considering the idea of taking turns patrolling the city. I don't think we could cover every night, but if we each took a night and then have a joint one on the weekend, then we could cover a majority of the week."

"Don't you do that already?"

"We tried for a little bit last year, but I think we bit off more than we could chew. Between our busy schedules and attacks during the day, it became too much to handle. "

"And, because we noticed a trend of most attacks happening during the day, it seemed unnecessary after a while," Chat chimed in. "I think that a schedule like that would make a lot of sense, my lady."

"What do you think, Queen Bee?"

"Well, for the next week I have an over-abundance of free time at night," Chloe said with a huff. "But, without my phone I have no idea what my schedule looks like after that."

"How about this," Ladybug said, "we'll go over what a typical patrol looks like today, we divvy up this week, and then meet up on Friday or Saturday night to go over schedules?"

Chloe winced. "I won't have my phone back by then."

Ladybug's forehead creased. Chloe could tell that she was trying to piece together why on earth she wouldn't be able to access her phone. All of a sudden, understanding dawned on her face and she smiled sympathetically.

"You got in trouble for last Saturday, didn't you?"

Chloe nodded.

"That sucks," Chat Noir said. "Are you like grounded or something?"

Chloe wished that she hadn't opened her big mouth. As Chloe she would have complained up a storm about it, but she'd hoped that she could appear like a real superhero to them. How was she supposed to be their peer if she let her problems get in the way of her superhero duties?

"Yeah," she admitted. "My father wasn't too happy so he decided to ground me pretty harshly."

They didn't need to know exactly why, though.

"There've been times my parents have grounded me, too," Ladybug said. She gave her an empathetic look and a small pat on the shoulder. "How long are you going without your phone?"

"A week. He took everything else, too," Chloe pouted. "I don't know how on earth he thinks I can survive without anything besides, books and magazines for a whole week is besides me."

"That's pretty harsh," Chat Noir sympathized. "I've actually been pretty lucky and never been grounded."

"Yet," Ladybug said. "Just wait, I'm sure that it'll happen eventually."

"Why would you wish something like that on me? From what you've told me being grounded is absolutely terrible."

"I'm not wishing it on you, Kitty. I'm just saying that you run a high risk of it happening."

"I suppose so."

"Anyways," Ladybug said as she turned to Chloe, "We can make due until you can get your schedule. Then we'll go from there." She pulled out her yo-yo and checked the time. "We don't have a lot of time to patrol tonight, but we can go over some of the basics and go from there. Sound like a plan?"

"Sure does," Chat Noir said.

"Yes," Chloe agreed.

"Great!" Ladybug lassoed her yo-yo to the beam above them. "Follow my lead!"

She lead the three of them across the city, pointing out locations and paths as they went. Chloe found that she could keep pace with the two of them for a short amount of time, and then quickly lost steam after that. She thought for sure that her wings would make it easier for her. And yes, they did for a short amount of time, but, in the long run, her compatriot's experience outclassed her immensely.

In fact, not only were they more agile, she almost felt winded after they were only halfway through. It'd taken out a large chunk of her pride to ask for the pair to slow down a bit so that she could keep up. She half expected them to make fun of her. But, surprisingly, they'd both been understanding. In fac,t Ladybug seemed almost sheepish for not noticing her struggling.

After they finished up their own tour of the city, something that Chloe was grateful for, Ladybug led them back to the Eiffel Tower. With how exhausted she felt Chloe had half a mind to ask for them to stop by the hotel on the way, but she knew that would be too obvious of a request. As they landed, the tower began sparkling again.

Had they really been gone for a whole hour?

"Well, that's about it," Ladybug said. "Chat, do you have preference this week?"

"I'm usually free on Wednesday nights."

"I can take Thursday. Queen Bee, would you be free Saturday?"

"I should be."

"Awesome. How about we meet at Notre Dame at about ten?"

Chloe furrowed her eyebrows. "I thought we were doing these patrols alone?"

"Yeah, eventually," Chat Noir said, "but since you're new we thought it'd be a good idea to pair up with you."

"You don't think I can do it, do you?" Chloe clamped her mouth shut as soon as the words were out. She _knew_ that wasn't what he meant, but she'd lashed out on instinct.

"We just thought it'd be a good idea until you felt more comfortable with it," Ladybug said. It was obvious that she didn't appreciate Chloe's tone, but she let it slide. "Also, we don't know what Hawk Moth is up to. What if he decides to attack us directly again?"

"That… makes sense."

Chat pulled out his baton and frowned at the little display. "I should probably get going. It's getting pretty late."

"How late?"

"It's a little after eleven."

"Oh geeze." Ladybug winced. "We should all get a move on then."

"Yeah. It was nice getting to know you better, Queen Bee. I look forward to working with you more."

Chloe took the proffered hand and shook it. "Likewise."

"See you later, Bugaboo."

"Sure, see you next time, Kitty."

And, with that, Chat Noir was disappearing into the dark city. Chloe could somewhat make out where he was, but soon she lost him amongst all of the buildings.

"Well, I'll see you Saturday, Queen Bee."

"See you then."

Ladybug sent herself flying through the air in the opposite direction from Chat Noir. Chloe wondered if that was the real direction of Ladybug's house. More likely, though, it wasn't and she would weave back and forth before going home. In all reality, Chloe should do the same, but she was exhausted now and wanted nothing more than to go to bed. Taking off, Chloe flew towards home and didn't stop until she was landing on her balcony.

Thankfully, it looked as though no one had been in her room since she'd left. Dropping her transformation, she felt the exhaustion sink deep into her. She eyed her bed in longing, but she knew better than to go to bed without washing up first. So, instead, she gathered her clothes and made her way to her bathroom.

"Do you feel any better, Chloe?" Lyssa asked she came to float beside her, fruit snack in hand.

"All I want to do is go to bed now," she whined. "I thought having super powers would make doing all that exercise easier."

"It does, but it doesn't take all of the strain off of your body. That's one of the reasons why I was encouraging you to spend some time tonight training. It's going to take your body some time to adjust."

"But Ladybug and Chat Noir never looked like they struggled with being exhausted."

"Perhaps they are both just a bit more fit in their everyday lives or they never showed it on camera."

"I guess." Chloe turned on the tap. "Does this mean that I'll have to… exercise?"

"It wouldn't hurt. Though going out on patrols twice a week with Ladybug and Chat Noir will also help you improve your endurance. Perhaps you can even ask them to spar with you so that you'll be more prepared for the next akuma attack."

"I'll… think about it. Right now all I want to do is take a bath and then go to bed."

"That's understandable. I would recommend not taking too long, though, Wouldn't want you to fall asleep in here," Lyssa laughed.

"I won't fall asleep!" Chloe blushed. "Now get out!"

"Fine, fine. Have an enjoyable time."

Without waiting for Chloe to respond, Lyssa flew through the wall and, presumably, went off to do her own thing while she waited. Chloe shook her head and went about taking a relaxing bath. She would never admit it, but she found herself nodding off a couple of times, but she was able to finish without drowning.

She crawled into bed and didn't even have the energy to chastise Lyssa for snuggling too close to her. She could feel her mind wanting her to over-analyze everything that happened while she was out with Ladybug and Chat Noir, her body, on the other hand, wanted nothing more than to go to sleep.

She had to agree with it, though. So much had happened today and she'd much rather sleep than spend hours thinking about what she could have done differently today. Hopefully, after a good night's sleep she would be able to figure out what to do about Sabrina.

And, with that hope in mind, she allowed herself to fall asleep.

* * *

Thanks for reading!

Small life update: Things are evening out bit better than they had been! That means that I have had more and less time to work on writing. XD Technically I've had more time, but my friends and family have also realized that I have more time so... you can imagine how they steal quite a bit of that time. Not that I'm really complaining much, overnights did a lot more damage than I realized they had and I've been putting it all back together, bit by bit. I've also fallen head over heels with the anime my hero academia so... if you're into that I'm sure that there'll be some content for that coming out at some point.

Also, I normally don't comment on canon stuff in these little notes (and I'll leave all of my ranting and raving for my blog) but I just wanted to let you guys know that none of what has happened in the latest episodes will be swaying this story. We're pretty far in as it is, and I'm pretty sure all of you guys knew that already, but I just wanted to make it clearer. I have my own ideas for Chloe and the potential that she has so I'll just keep plugging away until this comes to a conclusion.

Anyways, as always, please let me know what you think! This chapter was a bit slower, but things'll pick up a bit on the next go around, don't worry!


	13. Chapter 13

_Chapter 13_

 _'cause with all that has happened, i think that we both know the way that this story ends_

* * *

Friday came and Chloe still hadn't talked to Sabrina.

It wasn't for a lack of trying. She'd tried every trick in the book in an attempt to catch even a single moment to talk to her. She'd waited at her locker before and after school. She tried to corner her during gym. She'd even went so far as to attempt to follow her into the bathroom.

She'd tried _everything_.

And yet, it seemed as though the universe was doing its best to thwart every plan. The Sabrina Protection Squad™ made a point to make sure that she was never alone. Alix walked with her around school. Marinette made a point to cut her off before she could get a word out. And, when neither were available, Alya easily accompanied her anyplace that she might want to go.

And then there were the rest of her peers.

For the most part her classmates were choosing to ignore her unless she tried to talk to Sabrina. But that didn't stop the rumors from spreading like wildfire. Everywhere people were talking about her in a negative light and blowing the situation way out of proportion.

Some were spreading Sabrina's lie. Others, though, twisted it to fit their own story. She'd overheard someone from another class talk about how she'd beat Sabrina with a broom. An upperclassman liked to talk about how she'd caused Sabrina's injuries with just her fists. She'd even heard a couple teachers gossip about how she'd obviously done some of the worst harm that they'd ever seen.

But, as the week wore on, it wasn't just rumors that were flung around.

Some of the other students were excited to capitalize on the opportunity to try to put her in her place. The upperclassmen gossiped louder when she walked by about how she was going to get what was coming to her. A few even went so far as to 'accidentally' bump into her. One particular senior even tripped her as she went by and sent her books flying.

It wasn't anything she couldn't handle. She _was_ Chloe Noel Bourgeois after all. Princess of Paris to the public and Queen Bee in secret. But even she wasn't completely impervious to the jeers and jabs when the teachers weren't looking…

Despite how she presented herself to her peers.

If she could just get Sabrina to tell her the truth, then maybe she would be able to handle all of this better. But, she could tell that Sabrina also wasn't going to let that happen. Because, the rare opportunities that she had found her friend unaccompanied, she had immediately veered away and pretended that she didn't even exist.

By Friday, Chloe had become desperate: she planted a note in Sabrina's locker. It was a longshot, but she had no phone and no one would let her within ten feet of Sabrina. She hoped that Sabrina would tell her the truth if there was no one around to influence her.

That last hope was what led her to girl's third floor bathroom, pacing back and forth instead of enjoying the finger sandwiches that Jacques had packed for her lunch.

"What if she didn't even see the note?" Chloe asked aloud.

"How often does she go to her locker?" Lyssa asked from where she was hiding in a floral scarf draped around Chloe's neck.

"Unless I'm there: between every class."

"Then it stands to reason that she's seen it."

"But what if she never comes?"

"Just give her time." Lyssa put a gentle hand on her arm. "Maybe she won't come by today, but I doubt that she'll avoid you forever. You're her best friend."

"Best friend? Ha," Chloe said mirthlessly. "As far as I can tell I'd be lucky for her to just consider me an _acquaintance_."

Lyssa frowned. "Chloe I—"

At that moment, a shockwave went through the whole school. The ground shifted and Chloe barely kept her balance by hanging onto one of the sinks. A moment later large crashes could be heard followed by screams. Chloe groaned.

Of course an akuma would show up now.

"They can handle it, right?" Chloe gave Lyssa pleading look. She could skip the fight and wait for Sabrina. Ladybug and Chat Noir had done this plenty of times before surely they'd be _fine_ …

"Perhaps, though I don't think that it would be a good idea to risk it."

"But what if Sabrina does show up?"

Lyssa gave her an unamused look. "Not showing up could appear as a weakness to Hawk Moth."

"Fine," she muttered. "Stripes Across."

As soon as she was transformed, Chloe slammed the window to the girl's bathroom wide open. Launching herself out, she unfurled her wings the moment that she was clear of the building. She kept going until she was a decent distance from the building and then turned to take assess what was going on.

Chat Noir was battling a particularly… odd akuma.

The outfit was pretty par for the course, black spandex with a cape made of cards, but instead of the normal humanoid head with a mask, this akuma had what looked to be a shark head, complete with the fin poking out above the collar of the cape.

Hawk Moth really shouldn't quit his day job.

"Give me your miraculous!" The akuma shouted, in a voice much younger than Chloe would have guessed from the akuma's tall stature. "Then I can go play in the tournament and defeat everyone!"

"I don't think that's how that works, pal," Chat Noir said as he brought his staff down. The Akuma dodge it easily and glared.

"You don't know anything!"

The akuma grabbed at their cape and detached one of the cards. Bringing their arm up, Chloe noticed a weird apparatus attached. It looked as though the akuma was going to use the card with the device. She didn't know what it would do if they did so, without much hesitation, Chloe pressed the button in the middle of her purse, transforming it into her boomerang, and sent it flying toward the akuma. Taken by surprise, the blow sent the akuma sprawling, card knocked from their grasp.

Chat Noir barely side-stepped out of the way and gave her a glance. Smiling widely he gave her a good-natured wave as she reached up and snatched her returning boomerang out of the air.

"Hey New-bee! Long time no see!"

Chloe rolled her eyes.

"It's Queen Bee, thank you very much."

"Good luck trying to convince him to call you that," Ladybug said as she landed beside her partner. "He likes giving people nicknames."

"What can I say, I'm an affectionate kitty." He winked and both girls rolled their eyes.

"Oh please." Chloe landed beside her teammates. "That wasn't even a clever one."

"What're you talking about? Not only was it clever it was also a pun!"

"It's an easy pun. That's what makes it not very clever."

"Look out!" Ladybug yelled as she dodged a magical beam of light.

Chat Noir and Chloe were nearly hit by it as well, but were able to dodge it at the last second.

Chloe turned her attention back to the akuma just in time to watch the akuma discard something from their hand that turned into dust the moment it left their grasp. They then reached for cape and detached another card.

"You're not going to dodge this one so easily." Placing the card on the apparatus, a bright light emitted from it, effectively binding them. The next thing that Chloe knew a knight that looked distinctly like an elf was floating beside them.

"Wait," Ladybug said in disbelief, "Is that—"

"Elf Knight! Attack!"

It looked as though Ladybug wanted to correct the akuma, but, instead, she flipped back out of the way. The Elf Knight then turned to Chat Noir and brought his sword down onto Chat Noir's baton. They clashed for a few moments before Chat brought his baton around and slammed it into the knight's side. Chloe expected him to go flying with the blow, but instead he let out a cry of anguish and disintegrated.

The akuma made a disgruntled sound.

"Looks like I'll need one with more stars to defeat you."

"Stars?" Chloe asked.

"He means that he'll need to summon a monster that's a higher level than us," Ladybug interjected. "Though I don't know how you'll do that if we keep destroying all of your weaker monsters."

The akuma frowned.

"Looks like I'll just have to make it so that you can't do that!" The akuma reached for their cape and pulled another card from it. Looking at it they smirked, showing far too many teeth than Chloe ever really wanted to see. "Why don't you hold still for a few turns?"

"Wha—"

Another blinding light emitted from their arm, and, the next thing that Chloe knew, she and the rest of their team were paralyzed by shards of light that looked like swords. Chloe tried alongside her teammates to escape their confines, but she found that it was nearly impossible to move.

"There. Now I can summon whatever monsters I want!"

"That's not fair!" Chat Noir yelled. "We haven't even had a chance to draw a card!"

"Well maybe you should have showed up to this duel better prepared."

Not wasting any more time, the akuma drew three cards from their cape and placed two of them on their device. A moment later two monsters, a small blue dragon and a beaver in armor, appeared. The akuma smirked as they looked at their card.

"You're going to wish that you hadn't mocked me."

"We didn't mock you!" Chloe said.

"Everyone mocks me. That's why, I, Card Shark, am going to rule the world so that no one else can mock me!" Card Shark placed their third, and final, card on their device and suddenly the two other monsters turned to ash and, in their place a beautiful girl in a bright pink and blue dress and cap appeared. She gave them a wink before hovering and cradling a short ornate cane in her hands.

The moment that she showed up, though, the force that had been holding them in place disappeared.

"Wizard Woman! Attack!"

None of them waited around for that, though. The moment that they were free, the three of them split up and sought out cover. Wizard Woman attempted to shoot beams of light at them, but they were able to get behind cover in time.

Card Shark let out a frustrated yell. "Get back here! I need to send you to the Dark Place!"

Ladybug groaned. "I can't tell if he just doesn't know all the terms or if he's doing this on purpose!"

"What do you mean?" Chloe asked.

"He's based off of a television show!" Chat Noir said. "It's called— ah!" He barely missed the wizard's attack. "We'll have to explain more later."

Ladybug attempted to attack the wizard, but failed miserably as she easily evaded the attack. Letting out a frustrated cry, Ladybug reeled her yo-yo back in.

"Looks like I'm going to have to play my trump card: Lucky Charm!"

Moments later a device similar to the one the akuma was using and a deck of cards fell from the sky into Ladybug's hands.

"Is it time to duel, my lady?"

Ladybug groaned as she put the deck into a slot and drew five cards. "You _really_ need to work on your jokes, Kitty."

"Aw, don't you like my jokes?"

Ladybug rolled her eyes before looking down at her hand. Smirking she leveled the akuma with a confident look. "Hey Queen Bee, make sure you're ready to get the item, okay?"

"Got it."

Chloe took off and hovered nearby, eyeing the wizard who had flown back to where the akuma was standing. She half expected them to reach for another card, but instead they waited patiently for Ladybug to make her move.

"Sorry to end this so quickly, Card Shark."

"Ha!" They laughed. "You have no monsters on the field."

"That may be," Ladybug said. "But I don't need to because I have these cards in my hand!" She turned the cards toward the akuma and immediately elicited a gasp from them.

"How— That's not possible!"

"Sorry, but it totally is."

A moment later all five cards let out a bright golden light and all of a sudden a large golden monster the size of the building they were standing on top of appeared before her. There were golden chains around its large muscular frame and the menacing aura around it made Card Shark shake.

"I think you know what happens next."

"You win," Card Shark said, head hanging low. A moment later they placed their hand over their deck, pulled the device from their arm, and threw it in front of themselves. As soon as they words were out of their mouth the wizard disappeared. Chloe threw her boomerang at the device and watched as it cracked and revealed a purple butterfly. Ladybug didn't waste any time before sending her yo-yo to capture the akuma and purify it.

"Miraculous Ladybug!" she yelled as she threw her lucky charm into the air. Moments later the usual ladybugs went all through Paris and righted the world. The large looming monster disappeared, the destruction was cleaned up, and the shark-headed akuma reverted back to a young boy wearing a shark hoodie.

"Pound it!" Ladybug and Chat Noir yelled the moment that Chloe joined them back on the roof. She found it a bit awkward to be a part of the gesture but appreciated being included.

"Whoa, Ladybug?" The little boy asked from where he sat. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh you know just—" Her earrings beeped. "Sorry, can one of you take him back?"

"Sure. I'll show the new-bee what to do."

"Hey!" Chloe crossed her arms.

"Thanks, Kitty! See you guys tomorrow!" With a wave Ladybug took off. Chloe watched her for a little while, but her attention was quickly brought to the kid sitting on the roof. It looked as though the shock was starting to rub off and in its place was rapidly growing fear.

"Hey, buddy." Chat Noir said in a calming voice. "You doing alright?"

"I'm scared of h-heights." The kid said, visibly shaking as he glanced at the edge of the roof.

"That's okay, I used to be scared of heights, too. How about you close your eyes while we get you back to the ground? Then we can help get you back home. Sound like a plan?"

"O-okay." The kid shut his eyes tight as Chat Noir bent over and picked the kid up.

"I'm going to take him to a police station. Normally one of us would either take a victim home or let first responders help them, but since he's scared and it looks like no one is around it's probably best for us to get a police officer to take him home."

"That makes sense," Chloe said as she followed Chat Noir's descent to the ground.

Chloe was glad that Chat Noir took charge. She had no experience with kids, especially with how to talk to one that was scared. Throughout their whole journey to the station she watched in silence as her teammate both entertained and soothed the child in his arms. And, before she knew it, they were dropping the kid off and heading in their own directions.

All-in-all the battle had gone quite smoothly. But, as she de-transformed and made her way towards her next class, she found herself mulling over how Chat Noir acted after the fact. He had known just the right things to say to make the kid feel ten times better. And, while she could understand the words and actions that he had used… she couldn't imagine herself having nearly as much success.

"Everything okay?" Lyssa asked.

"I'm fine," Chloe said, frowning. "Why?"

"You've been standing outside of your next class for the last five minutes without going inside."

Chloe lifted her head up and, for the first time, took in where she was and what time it was. Groaning she grabbed Lyssa and stuffed her into her purse. She was looking up and down the empty hall, looking for a clock to tell her how late she was, when she suddenly spotted Sabrina coming down the stairs.

Sabrina came to a stop at the bottom of the stares and froze once she realized who was standing in front of the door.

The air between them cracked and sparked with all the frustration that had built up this past week. Chloe wanted nothing more than to clear the air between them, but it felt as though there was a stagnant cloud of smoke hanging in the hallway. Making her choke on all of her unspoken questions.

Eventually she opened her mouth, hoping to ask just one…

But, Sabrina was faster.

"Can you please move?" Sabrina asked, meekly. She moved her gaze to just past Chloe, refusing to even look at her. "I-I need to get to class."

Chloe ground her teeth as Sabrina tried to maneuver around her. Chloe was having none of it, though. Instead of moving to the side and allowing Sabrina entry, she stepped forward grabbed Sabrina's shoulder, and forced her to face her.

"No."

Sabrina bit her lip. "Chloe, please. We're both need—"

"No. What we both _need_ is to talk about what happened Saturday."

"There's nothing to talk about," Sabrina said, tone flat.

Chloe spluttered. "Nothing to talk about?! Sabrina, you _lied_ to everyone! You have to tell everyone the truth! Otherwise they're going to think—"

"I can't do that Chloe." Sabrina looked up at Chloe for the first time that week in order to glare at her. Chloe tried to read the emotions simmering underneath her glasses, but Sabrina turned away shadowed them with her bangs. "Besides, it's nothing that everyone wasn't already thinking. You? Hurting others? It's not all that much of a stretch really."

Chloe pulled her hand back from Sabrina as if she'd been burned.

"Thank you."

Sabrina walked past her and made to open the door. She almost had the door handle fully turned when she paused, staring intently at the door in front of her.

"I can't be your friend right now, Chloe."

Her heart seized painfully in her chest.

"Maybe someday... but not right now." Sabrina let out a sigh as she pulled out a familiar folded piece of paper. "And, please. Don't leave anymore notes in my locker. It'd save us both a lot of trouble."

With that, Sabrina dropped the paper and stepped through the door way, leaving Chloe alone.

Numbly, she leaned over, picked up the note, and stared at it. She stood there for quite some time. Staring with empty eyes at the piece of paper in her hand, only one question echoed in her head:

Why did a broken heart sound so much like a closing door?

* * *

A/N: Hey everyone! Thanks so much for reading. This last month has been a bit busy, what with nanowrimo, but I wanted to let you all know that it was pretty fruitful! I didn't meet the 50k mark, but with 25k down I'll be able to sift through everything and have a bit more content on a more timely basis out to you guys. I haven't exactly hashed it out quite yet, but I anticipate about two times a month with no less than one time. I know uploads have been really unreliable, but I still very much want to see this story through, despite everything happening in life and the show itself.

Again, thank you so much! If you have any thoughts/comments/akuma ideas please let me know. Also, if any of you wanna chat in between uploads don't be afraid to stop by my tumblr! Otherwise, I'll see you in the next update!


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

* * *

 _hold onto hope, if you've got it_

* * *

It took a surprising amount of begging for her father to allow her to go out shopping.

Normally, he would have caved far sooner, no matter what had happened, but he was obnoxiously sticking to his guns. He still wouldn't budge on the phone rule. Apparently it would stay in effect for another week. But, he agreed that she could stand to get out of the house for a couple of hours after being cooped up for a little over a week.

So, come Sunday, she found herself being driven by Jacques to a shopping district at the edge of town.

It wasn't a particularly high-end area, in fact she would almost argue that it was far below the line that she usually drew when it came to quality, but it was an area that her father deemed safe from her potentially running into Sabrina.

That is how Chloe found herself perusing a thrift shop with Jacques following close behind her.

"You know that you can stay in the car, right?"

"Your father gave me explicit instructions to make sure that you behaved yourself throughout this trip. That means that I must tag along with you. Unfortunately."

Chloe gave him an unamused look.

"Does Daddy think that I'll burn the place down if you're not watching me?"

Her butler's silence spoke volumes.

"This is ridiculous. _Utterly_ ridiculous!" She spluttered. "First he limits me to where I can go and how much I can spend, but now you're following me like a lost puppy!"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Ugh!" Chloe rounded on him. "Do I have to spell it out for you? Leave me alone!"

Jacques stared at her for a while before shuffling off to stand wordlessly by the entrance of the store.

"I feel as though you could have handled that with a bit more tact, Cl—"

"Not. Now. Lyssa." Chloe muttered under her breath as she haphazardly pulled an atrocious dress off of the rack in front of her. Lyssa made herself scarce and, thankfully, the other patrons of the store gave her a wide berth as she haphazardly pulled clothes off of the racks around her.

Normally, she wouldn't go into a store like this unless she was doing something for one of her social media accounts with Sabrina. For reasons unknown to her, a vast majority of her followers absolutely devoured content that involved her thrifting. Sure some of them liked to see how she could still create an outfit from sub-par material, but she knew that a majority liked it for one reason and one reason alone:

They liked to watch her suffer.

But, with a limit of one hundred euros, she had little choice. It would be impossible for her to get anything that she truly wanted, and, with such a low budget, a thrift shop with standards was the only place that she could think that would allow her to take a large quantity of clothing home.

Which, if she was being honest, was really what she was looking for in this therapeutic shopping experience. More clothes meant that she had to spend time going through her closet and figuring out what went with what and less time on thinking about everything that had happened on Friday. And considering she had nothing else mind-numbing to do, this was the best that she could do.

Or at least, that was her plan until she literally ran into someone on her way to the changing room.

She found herself falling back on her butt, clothes flying everywhere, as a familiar set of blue eyes watched her with amusement and slight concern.

"You should probably watch where you're going," Nathanael said through a poorly concealed laugh as he extended a hand to help her up.

Thoroughly upset, Chloe batted his hand away and shakily stood up under her own power.

"I could say the same for you!" She bent over and picked up the clothes on the ground and cringed at the closes she'd picked. She hadn't really been paying all that much attention almost picking clothes at random. So the results, unsurprisingly, were quite tacky. She was sure that Nathanael didn't really know too much about fashion, but even an untrained eye would think that the clothes she had picked up were hideous.

"Well, I suppose that I should have looked both ways before exiting the changing room so I'll apologize," He said as he hung up a few pairs of pants up on the return rack. "What're you doing here anyway? Don't you usually go shopping at places like Gabriel or Gucci or some other super fancy place?"

"I don't see how that's any of _your_ business," Chloe snapped as she made to enter the changing room. "What're _you_ doing here?"

"I needed some pants for a cosplay I'm doing," he said without batting an eye.

Chloe stopped short. The term sounded slightly familiar, like it was something that Adrien had said while he was going through is weeb phase, but she couldn't quite understand how a pair of pants had anything to do with Japanese animation. She stopped short of the door way to cock her head to the side in curiosity.

"What's that?"

"If I tell you, will you tell me why you're skulking around a thrift store instead of a high end boutique?'

Chloe groaned. "Fine. I've been cooped up all week without anything and since Daddy gave me a one hundred euro limit I decided to come here. And, since I sometimes make thrifting videos and posts I thought this would be good way to kill multiple birds with one stone."

"You make videos?"

"Of course I do," Chloe scoffed. "It's the only way to stay relevant these days, you know."

"I guess that makes sense." He shifted his soon-to-be-purchased pants to the other arm. "Though isn't that kind of hard without a phone?"

"Yes it is…" She narrowed her eyes at him. "How did you know that I didn't have a phone right now?"

Nathanael rolled his eyes. "I'm pretty sure that you're clinically addicted to your cell phone. So, when you all of a sudden go without it for a whole week it's pretty obvious that you either broke it or you were grounded from it. And, considering that your father could buy you a helicopter at the drop of a hat…"

"Yes," she said on a sigh, "Daddy took my phone away for two weeks. Are you happy now that you figured that out?"

"Mildly."

"If you're happy with that answer, then can you tell me what that word means? Normally, I would look it up myself so that I wouldn't have to listen to you explain it, but since we've established the fact that I do not have my phone right now…"

"And normally I wouldn't answer a question like that after being insulted like that, but I'll humor you today:

"Cosplay is basically dressing up as a character or figure. Usually it's associated with anime, but people dress up as all sorts of things now. And while there isn't necessarily a consensus, lots of people consider dressing up as Ladybug and Chat Noir as being cosplay as well."

Images of her adventures as Ladybug with Sabrina as Chat Noir came to her mind unbidden. She felt embarrassment burn her cheeks and sadness freeze her heart at the memory. Both made her feel utterly uncomfortable. She bristled.

"Like I'd do anything like that." She turned her nose up, literally, at the thought.

"Sure, Chloe, and neither of us have been akumatized by Hawk Moth." He rolled his eyes. "Look, it's just a fun thing that people do to express their appreciation for something. No need to get your panties in a twist over it."

Chloe let out a scandalized noise and was about to tell Nathanael off when his phone went off, grabbing his attention. He pulled it out and glanced at it before groaning.

"Sorry, I gotta take this. See you tomorrow or whatever," he said distractedly as he stepped away to answer the call.

"Rude," she muttered as she finally entered the dressing room. She passively noticed a woman attempting to do the same, but she beat the older lady to it and locked the door. She could hear an annoyed scoff from the other side of the door, but didn't pay it too much attention as she hung up the atrocities she'd picked up in the store.

The moment that she actually started trying on the clothes, though, Chloe became acutely aware of the fact that Lyssa was there with something that she obviously wanted to say. But, for whatever reason, she was just… _floating there._

Chloe only lasted through two shirts before she finally gave up.

"If you have something to say, just say it."

Lyssa sighed. "You really should reconsider the way that you treat people, Chloe."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I've held my tongue for a while, but the way that you act towards others is outright deplorable at times."

Chloe gasped. "What are you talking about? I'm always cordial to people."

"You just insulted a classmate and then cut off a woman who had been patiently waiting for the whole of that conversation. If anyone was being rude, it was you."

"I didn't see her," Chloe lied. "Besides, if she really wanted to use this then—"

"Part of being a superhero is being aware of your surroundings to find who might be in need of help. People who are in danger don't always scream when they are in trouble. You cannot assume that every person who is in need of help will be able to tell you so."

"Why won't everyone just let me shop in peace," Cloe whined. "It's been a hard week and I just want to do a little bit of shopping to unwind."

"I understand that, but—"

"Look, Lyssa. Now's not the time."

"Chloe. I'm just worried that—"

"That what? I'm going to go off the deep end just because my best friend wants nothing to do with me?" She ripped her shirt off, leaving her in a tank top and a weird denim fru-fru skirt. She then tore a puke green paisley monstrosity off of the hanger behind her and shoved it on over her head. "What would give you that idea."

"Perhaps the less than stellar clothes combinations that you're putting together right now?"

If looks could kill, Lyssa would probably be an apparition right now.

It didn't matter that she knew that Lyssa was right, in more ways than one, her pride simply wouldn't allow for her admit as much. She knew that she was teetering on the brink of breaking, but she wanted to put it off as long as possible. She wanted to relish in the opportunity that she was given to finally see more than just her room and school.

But that didn't mean she wasn't hurting.

"Chloe," Lyssa gently placed a hand on her cheek, "It's okay if you're upset. What happened would have upset anyone."

"Well." She swallowed around a lump in her throat, "I'm not just anyone. So I-I'm fine.

"I have to be," she whispered, looking anywhere, but at the kwami before her.

There was a long silence between the two of them with Chloe doing her best to keep her raging emotions under control and Lyssa holding back from saying all of the wise words that she most likely wanted to impart upon her charge. As charged as it was, Chloe was still grateful for the unspoken support. So, once she deemed herself able to finally say something without breaking down, Chloe spoke.

"The…" Chloe reached for a blazer in the most god-awful shade pumpkin-orange that she had ever seen and shrugged it on. "The trick to thrift shopping is finding the most disgusting outfit first," Chloe said lowly as she adjusted the lapels. "Once you try on the absolute worst thing possible, then anything you try on after that won't seem nearly as bad."

It wasn't exactly something that she lived by, in fact it was just a line from the thrift video that she and Sabrina had created last year, but for some reason, saying it out of context, made her feel a bit better. Felt a bit more true in the stuffy air of the changing room.

"That makes sense. Though I think you set the bar awfully low with this one," Lyssa giggled.

"Well considering the type of place we're in, that's pretty easy. H-have you seen the types of clothes that are here? Most of them are utterly ridiculous."

"I don't know, I'm pretty sure I spotted a few treasures out there. Why don't we try on a few of those?"

The prideful side of Chloe wanted to insist that she knew that there weren't any good clothes out in the store, but a quieter part of her wanted to try to find these 'treasures' that Lyssa said she'd seen. She turned to her own reflection and regarded the atrocious outfit that she'd found and decided to go with the smaller part of herself today.

"Well, then you'd better help me find them, because I refuse to go home empty handed."

* * *

Chloe, indeed, did not go home empty handed.

In fact, it took both her and Jacques to carry all of her purchases upstairs.

They passed her father on their way upstairs and it was almost comical how appalled he was at the amount of items she had bought.

"H-honey, I thought we agreed on only one hundred euros!"

Chloe shoved the receipt into his face.

"I only spent ninety." She picked her bags back up—what superheroine couldn't carry at least five of them by herself?— and continued through the foyer of the hotel. She could hear her father spluttering as he continued to fail to understand how she had pulled off such a feat. She paid it no mind and piled into the elevator with her butler.

In truth, the amount of bags was almost deceiving because, not only had she found a plethora of clothes, but also random knickknacks and other such items for her room. Strictly speaking, everything she had bought today was unnecessary. But, there was something therapeutic about methodically looking through the used clothes in order to find one of the many 'treasures' that Lyssa had spied.

Once in her room, Chloe separated the clothes from the rest of the items she had purchased and sent them to be washed. The idea of wearing used clothes might have grown on her, but she wouldn't be caught dead wearing any of the clothes without having them laundered first.

She wasn't a heathen after all.

As soon as Jacques had left, bags in tow, Lyssa flew out of her hiding place to buzz excitedly beside the remaining bags. Chloe rolled her eyes as she rummaged through the bags for what she knew Lyssa wanted:

A bouquet of stuffed flowers.

Lyssa let out an excited squeak as she rushed forward to hug one of the stems.

"I don't know why you're so excited over fake flowers. As a bee, shouldn't you be more excited about real flowers?"

"While I do enjoy real flowers, these last a much longer time! And besides that, they are far cuddlier!" The kwami nuzzled the stem and squeezed it between her little hands.

Chloe had to work hard to keep a smile off of her face at such an endearing sight.

"Oh, whatever. Where do you want them?"

Lyssa surveyed the room before gesturing to Chloe's bed. "How about—"

"Absolutely not. Who knows where these have been."

"But, Chloe, if they're going to be my new bed, then shouldn't it be close to where you sleep? What if there's an emergency?"

Chloe groaned. "Fine. But we're putting them on my nightstand."

"Thank you, Chloe!" Lyssa rushed forward and hugged Chloe's nose, generating a squeak from the surprised girl.

"Will you stop that?! One of these days I'm going to go cross-eyed. And if that happens how on earth will I explain to Daddy why I need eye surgery?"

"Don't worry, you won't go cross-eyed."

"How do you know that?"

"Experience!"

Chloe rolled her eyes as she stood and started setting up the new nesting place for Lyssa.

Once she was satisfied, Chloe went about putting away the other items that she had purchased. The silver tray and antique mirror she placed on her vanity with a note for housekeeping to polish them. She stashed away a decoration with an awful pun that she knew Adrien would love. She added a few more books to her collection. Some she had already read while others looked promising to whittle away at all the free time she suddenly had. She added a few accessories to her collection and added a small ladybug knickknack to go beside Lyssa's new home on her nightstand.

And hid away a pin that she knew Sabrina would love.

She had no reason to believe that she would ever have the chance to spoil her friend ever again. But, a small part of her knew that she would regret leaving behind the small pearled heart pin. So, despite every rational reason for her not buying it… she had.

Because while she knew, _really knew_ , that Sabrina meant what she had said on Friday… Chloe still held onto a small shred of hope that she didn't mean it. The record of that scene that played in her head over and over and over again kept getting stuck on the 'maybe someday'. Because 'someday' didn't mean never.

It meant that there was still hope.

And while it wasn't rational for her to hold onto it… It was all that Chloe really had right now.

So, she held onto it as tightly as she could.

And hoped for someday.

* * *

Despite how much better she felt after her little jaunt around town, Chloe still felt restless.

She couldn't explain how the moment that one part of her settled ten other parts seemed to crop up and unsettle her. She tried her best to dispel the feeling by organizing her wardrobe and make notes for future content ideas, but even that didn't quell the feeling inside of her.

So, as was her new habit when she couldn't sit still, she transformed and began flying around Paris.

She knew that, deep down, she wanted to figure out how to be friends with Sabrina once again. And that yes she wanted to figure out what had really happened to change her friend in the blink of an eye. But, Chloe couldn't do anything about that at the moment. So, instead, Chloe focused on the way her body moved as she navigated above the busy street below. How her muscles were starting to really strain under the tight turns that she was taking harder than she was probably supposed to.

How she nearly ran into Chat Noir on his nightly patrol.

Chloe let out a screech as she just barely avoided her new teammate and landed haphazardly on the sidewalk below.

"Watch where you're going!" She snapped as she stood up and brushed off the dust that she had accidentally kicked up.

"Sorry," Chat said as he lowered himself to the street below sheepishly. "Are you okay?"

"Of course I am," Chloe huffed, crossing her arms across her chest. "I'm absolutely peachy."

"I don't believe you."

Chloe ground her teeth.

"Look. I just wanted to go out and practice flying. You guys are much faster than I am so—"

Chat raised an eyebrow. "I've heard from at least three citizens that you've been flying around like a mad woman. One lady thought for sure that there was an akuma that you were flying to take care of until you'd passed her shop five times."

"I'm fine."

"I think you're lying."

"And what if I am?" Chloe glared at him.

"Calm down. I'm just—"

"Just what, concerned? Thanks for that, but it's not like, even if I, hypothetically, had a problem, that I could really tell you about it."

"Sure you can. I'm all ears."

Chloe gave him an unimpressed look.

Chat let out a sigh and glanced around. Chloe did the same and noticed that there was a crowd starting to gather near them. It wasn't likely that they could catch everything that they were saying, but surely someone was catching at least some of it.

"Look, let's go somewhere more private to talk."

"If I wanted to talk, then—"

The black cat leveled her with a look that clearly told her that he wasn't lettin her get out of this whole talking thing like Lyssa had. There was also concern there, but she was quite sure that he wasn't going to take no for an answer with this.

"Let's go."

With that, Chat took off toward one of the less populated parts of town. He didn't glance back at her to see if she was following him, so, in theory, she could take off in another direction. But, she had a feeling that if he did look back and find that she wasn't nearby, that he would surely track her down. So, albeit with a high amount of reluctance, Chloe took off after him.

She promptly rounded on him the moment that he landed atop Notre Dame.

"Look, I'll have you know that noth—"

"Let's cut to the chase," Chat said cutting her off. "No matter how much you try to convince me that 'nothing' is wrong, it's not going to work. So why don't you—"

"It's nothing because I can't tell you what's going on!" Chloe nearly screeched.

Chat Noir winced. Whether it was because of her naturally grating voice, the volume, or because he realized that he had gone well past what was appropriate, Chloe couldn't tell.

And, either way, she didn't care.

"It's something highly personal," she continued with as much control on her tone as she could spare. "If I told you, then there is a 100% chance that you would be able to figure out who I am. And, considering we aren't supposed to reveal ourselves, that makes it a moot point. So, drop it Tom Cat."

Chat Noir's lips thinned. "There are ways to talk about personal problems without revealing who you are. Bottling up your feelings won't help you any and, considering your attitude hasn't improved since the first time I asked, I would imagine that you haven't taken care of this issue at all."

"What am I supposed to do? Talk about my feelings?"

"Maybe?" He shrugged. "I can't say what'll help the most for you, but I know from personal experience that trying to push stuff like that down just makes a bigger mess later. And, if talking to me isn't what you want, that's fine, but you need to talk to someone."

Chloe crossed her arms and refused to maintain eye contact with him.

"Look, Queen Bee, I'm not being pushy because I want to be mean. I'm just… worried about you."

Chloe continued to keep her eyes on the horizon, but felt herself relax a bit as he continued.

"I know how tough it is to juggle all of this and I totally get not being able to talk about everything to your friends or family about superhero stuff or Ladybug and I about civilian stuff. It's hard. But, even without knowing them, I can bet you that your kwami would be willing to listen to you talk about what's going on."

An image of Lyssa trying to get her to open up came to mind.

"And, maybe you're not all comfortable opening up to your kwami, mine's kind of a jerk sometimes if I'm being honest. But they're kind of here to help guide us and stuff. So maybe they could help you out."

Chat looked down at his staff and frowned.

"I'm sorry. My dad has been pretty strict lately so I should probably head home soon."

"I know what that's like," Chloe sighed. "You should probably go then."

Chat turned to leave, but Chloe could tell that he was hesitating.

"Don't worry about me. I'll… I'll try to talk to my kwami about what's going on."

He relaxed considerably at her promise.

"Good. If that doesn't go over too well, I can listen some, too. I can't guarantee that I'll be much help, but if you keep things vague enough I can at least listen."

"I'll keep that in mind. Now get going before you get in trouble or something."

Chat nodded. "Don't stay out too late yourself. I know what it's like to just take some time to yourself in the suit, but we can't live in them, unfortunately," he said on an awkward laugh. "Anyways, have a good night."

"You, too."

Chloe stayed there for some time. She didn't know how much Lyssa could perceive while she was transformed, but she didn't really want to get into that conversation tonight.

She'd had enough for one day.

* * *

A/N: Hello, hello! Thanks so much for reading! I was thinking I wouldn't post until next year, but here we are! I created a bit of a backlog during Nanowrimo so I'm hoping to be a bit more regular with updates for at least the next two months. My hopes are that between the lack of commitments I had this month and the habits I picked up during November, that I can perpetually stay ahead now. Granted, life will still happen and I have a lot of changes that will be happening in the next six months (Hopefully a new job, new roommate, and then new apartment!) but I think I have a better foundation as a writer now to see this through in a more timely manner.

Also... please let me know what you think and what you guys want to see in this story. There's a lot of open space between here and the end that I'm still trying to figure out so I'd love to get your guys' thoughts and feedback so that I can make this as awesome as it can be.

Thanks again and have a good start to your new year!


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

* * *

 _sometimes it's hard for me to show_

 _that i'm more than just a rumor_

* * *

Mrs. Rousseau clapped her hands twice to get the class's attention.

"Yes, yes, the akuma fight today was quite spectacular. You'll have all the time in the world to talk about it after class. Right now I'd like to talk to you about the end of the year project that you will be completing."

"But, Mrs. Rousseau," Kim interrupted, "It's not even November yet!"

"That's true, Kim. But, if you remember from the syllabus that I handed out at the beginning of the year, there are multiple parts to the project. And, since you'll be working in pairs-"

The class erupted in cheers.

"Calm down. All of you. If I can't get through to the pair assignments by the end of the class, I will have to assign a fifth part of the project."

The class immediately quieted down.

"Now that that's settled." Mrs. Rousseau went to the front of the room and made a list of four things under the title 'mixed media': Waning, Half, Waxing, Full.

"Aren't those the phases of the moon?" Adrien asked.

"That's correct, Adrien. I felt as though it was a fitting way to describe how I want you to fulfill this project. You see, so far I've had you all experiment with one medium at a time, but for this project I would like for you to mix different mediums in order to tell a story."

"What does that have to do with the moon, though?"

"Well, I'd like for you to use a different percentage of your chosen media on each part. For example, for the first phase I want one partner to use about seventy five percent of their medium while their partner uses only twenty five percent.

"Half is pretty self-explanatory. I'd like for you to use half of each medium, the third I'd like for it to be a reverse of number one. and on the final one it is up to the two of you to determine how much of each you'd like to use. Think of it as taking a creative license with the project.

"Do we have to use specific mediums?" Max asked.

"I would prefer that you to not use ceramics as we haven't covered that yet, but I've had students use leftover ceramics and then painted over them. You may also use digital art if you'd like, but you must create it yourself. This extends to pictures or typed words."

"So we can't cut up magazines?" Rose asked.

"No. But if you'd like to cut up an old history essay that's fine."

The class laughed.

"Do we have to use the same medium the whole time?" Marinette asked.

"Yes. Think of it as your signature in the piece. Are there any other questions?"

Everyone looked amongst themselves. When no one else piped up Mrs. Rousseau continued. "Other than these rules I will allow you to do whatever you'd like. I've brought a few examples so that you can get an idea of what people have done in the past."

One was a portrait. Half was painted in an abstract way while the other was a hyper detailed drawing of a person in charcoal. Another was a field of flowers drawn in pencil. On top were tiny paper origami flowers adhered in various places. The final piece was a photograph of the Eiffel Tower cut out and surrounding it was a watercolor background.

"You each will have the rest of the semester to work together in order to create your pieces. Now, I know that not all of you have a large amount of experience with art, but the point of this project isn't to be the best artist.

"The point of this project is to work collaboratively in order to create something that you can be proud of. I know that not all of you will be paired with people that you want to be. But sometimes you have to work with people that you don't quite understand or agree with in order to get something done. So, please do your best.

"As for who your partner will be, I've decided to have you work with your tablemate." She raised a hand to quell the loud roar that almost erupted. "I know that things aren't quite equal, so, Sabrina, I'm pairing you with Marinette and Alya. I have adjusted your requirements accordingly so please see me in a moment.

"Everyone else: please confer with your tablemate. You don't have to decide anything today, but you should at least get acquainted and set up a time to meet after class. I have a few days scheduled for work, but you will need to do a majority of the work outside of class hours. I will be here most days during lunch break and after class so if you would like to meet here to work and use supplies you are more than welcome. "

Chloe sent a side eye to Nathanael. If she was being honest, she could have been assigned a worse partner in all of this. But, all things considered, she knew that she was probably the worst person to have been assigned to him. They might have been civil to each other up to this point, both at school and out, but she knew how much he probably detested her.

"Let's plan to meet up at the library later this week," Nathanael said.

Chloe looked down at the planner that she had been using lately. Sabrina used to keep track of everything for her, but considering her absence in her life and the addition of her super hero responsibilities she had a lot more to keep track of. She should probably find a day that she didn't have patrol... "How about Wednesday?"

He tilted his head to the side, thinking. After a few moments he nodded. "Works for me."

And that was that. Both of them went about their own business as their peers talked amongst themselves about what they wanted to do. Chloe was tempted to fall into what everyone else was doing, but she also couldn't say that she minded the silence all that much.

In fact she kind of liked it.

* * *

Wednesday came and it found Chloe waiting outside of the school's library doors.

She didn't quite understand why she was hesitating so much. It wasn't as though Nathanael meant all that much to her. Nor that she cared all that much about how she did on this project. And it wasn't like he was all that important. and it wasn't as if she even cared all that much about his opinion or anything...

But perhaps the few conversations that they had shared really meant something to her. Because she could now count the number of conversations that she'd had with her peers that didn't end in disaster on one hand. And a majority of those were had with a certain tablemate.

And that meant something to her.

"Chloe...?"

She whipped around and found said boy hanging around in the hall behind her. She started in surprise away from the door, but immediately tried to hide it. She'd thought for sure that he had already entered the library so to have him show up behind her nearly gave her a heart attack.

"L-et's not waste any time." She pushed the doors open roughly, nearly hitting one of her classmates in the process. Said classmate was, unfortunately, Alix.

"Watch where you're going, Bourgeois!"

She said with a glare that would have set a lesser girl's hair on fire.

Chloe chose to ignore it.

"I'll go get us a table."

She made a bee-line for a table in the far corner. She had tried to get away as soon as possible, hoping to avoid the majority of Alix's ire, but she couldn't help catching some of the other girl's words as she went.

"Sorry that you've got to put up with the likes of her, Nath. Your noble sacrifice will be remembered."

Chloe could hear him give some sort of response, but she did her best to tune it out in favor of setting up her things. She had better things to do than listen to their idle gossip about her. And, while she hoped that things would stop being her against the rest of the school, she knew how unlikely that would be.

Even Adrien had stopped siding with her on anything. He wasn't nearly as overt as the others were, but he certainly was quite complacent with her treatment. And that spoke far more for his opinion of her than anything else.

Chloe did her best to act disinterested when Nathanael finally joined her at the table. She continued to mindlessly doodle in the margins of her planner, hoping it would numb her mind to her over-awareness of his presence. Nothing really worked, but she still gave it a valiant effort.

In the end, Nathanael was the one to break the silence first.

"So, what medium are you most comfortable with?"

"One who can actually exorcise ghosts," She snarked. She didn't look up, but she could feel him roll his eyes at her.

"Do I have to explain to you what a medium actually is?"

She scoffed. "I know what a medium is."

"Alright, then answer my question."

She drummed her fingers on the table. Truth be told, she was mediocre at best at every one of the mediums that they had used so far this semester. She wouldn't, of course, admit that to her project partner. But she hated the fact that she knew for a fact that next to his skill, no matter what she did, it would look like a child had done it.

And she hated feeling inadequate.

"Hand me your journal."

Chloe spluttered. "P-pardon?"

"If you don't know what medium you prefer, I can help figure out what style would work best for you. Then I can match it."

He extended his hand, expectantly.

She just stared at it and made no move to retrieve her sketchbook. It wasn't as if she had something personal in it. But, something about calling it a journal made her hesitant to hand it over to someone that she barely knew.

"I'm only going to look at it for what type style you have. Even if I'm half-tempted to share any embarrassing thing I might find, I promise that I won't. I of all people understand how personal art can be."

She stared at his hand a bit more before finally relenting and fishing out her sketchbook from her bag. She handed it to him, reluctantly. He took it slowly from her as if he was expecting her to blow up on him. When she didn't, he then went about perusing what she had completed of their journal assignments. Which, considering the time she'd had to kill lately, was farther ahead than where she was supposed to be.

"So, You _can_ do your homework," Nathanael snarked.

Chloe scoffed. "Of course I can! Sabrina just likes to feel useful." She paused for a moment, feeling the joke fall quite flat. She felt her hackles smooth out some as she added in a more subdued tone: "Or at least she did."

"I'm curious..."

"You should mind your own business."

"Well, you should be nicer. Doesn't mean you are."

Chloe rolled her eyes.

"Did you really push her? I saw the two of you at the gala and it seemed like you two were as close as ever..."

"Does it matter what really happened?" She asked sullenly. "It's not going to change the fact that everyone thinks I hurt her and that she doesn't want to be my friend anymore."

"I mean I can't blame anyone. You're mean and you are a pretty shi-"

"But I'd never do anything like that!"

"So, then what actually happened?"

Chloe bit her lip and looked away. The cynical part of her, which was growing day by day, said that he was only asking to gather gossip for the rest of the school. That even if she told him as much of the truth as she could, he wouldn't believe her anyways.

But there was another part of her. One that, albeit small, was quite stubborn and didn't want to give up on the chance that everything could be cleared up. So, while she knew in her heart of hearts that he most likely wouldn't believe her...

She told him as much of the truth as she could.

"I don't know," she said honestly. "I thought that the akuma was going to find us so I panicked and locked her in a closet. Then there was a lot of panicked people running around... I got separated from her and I... got scared. "

"Is that why you were hiding in the staff bathroom?"

Chloe winced.

She'd forgotten that he'd seen her afterwards.

"Yes. Then I remembered that she was stuck in there and... by the time I got there... someone had gotten her out of there and she was sitting in the green room, hurt.

"But I swear that I didn't push her nearly hard enough to cause anything like that!" Chloe rushed on, desperate for someone to finally believe her. "A-and she didn't even fall when I closed the door on her."

Nathanael didn't say anything for some time. Instead, he merely stared at the page in front of him. She couldn't read his expression. He was thinking, obviously, but did he believe her? Did he think that she was lying to him?

It scared her how much she hoped that he really did believe her.

"Well, as far as I can tell, it's 'she said she said' right now," he said eventually. "I can't outright believe you because of how you've acted in the past. But it sounds a lot more plausible than what I had been thinking."

Chloe breathed for the first time in a while.

"What was that?"

"That you were Queen Bee and you'd gone to the bathroom to de-transform"

"T-thats ridiculous. U-utterly ridiculous. Me? A superhero? I wish! What would make you think something like t-that?"

"I saw her go in that direction." He shrugged and went back to her journal. "but you're right. The two of you couldn't be any more different. She's sweet and you're as sour as sour can be. "

"And just what would you know about that?" She raised an eyebrow at him. As far as she knew he'd only had one interaction with her in costume.

"Well, don't let anyone know, but I've actually met her."

"I'm sure everyone has at this point. She _has_ been a hero for a while now."

"Yes, but…" He looked away, wistful. "She was out on patrol and just… talked to me. I'd been feeling down all week and nothing had been going well. And that conversation it just… meant a lot to me."

Chloe was taken aback for a moment. She'd only stopped by because she was curious as to why he always sat at the _Sancre Cour_ church.

It never occurred to her that her showing up would mean anything to him.

"I mean I was just one of the many citizens she saw that night, but…"

He gestured vaguely and then pushed her journal back towards her. It was opened up to the sketch she'd done on the first day of class.

"Anyways, I think that it might be cool for you to do pencil sketches while I do watercolor. I have a few ideas as to what we could do, but if you wanted to do a specific item or theme I'd be okay with doing that instead."

"O-of course I have ideas!" Chloe said, taking her journal back. "We should do…uh…"

Nathanael rolled his eyes. "You don't' have to pretend that you have any ideas. I know this is supposed to be a group project, but this kind of thing is my forte, so me planning it out would make a lot of sense. "

"Just because you have more experience doesn't mean I don't have ideas of what we should do," Chloe said scathingly.

"Alright, then let's hear it."

"H-how about the superheroes?"

"Are you actually comfortable drawing people?"

Chloe frowned. She didn't have a whole lot of experience with them, but they couldn't be that hard…

"Look, from what I saw in your book I think you're better at drawing simpler things. Like objects or something."

"Are you suggesting—"

"I'm not suggesting anything," Nathanael sighed. "Look, Mrs. Rousseau isn't going to judge us on how perfect this project is. She knows not everyone has a lot of experience. That being said, I'm pretty sure both of us would like to turn in something that we're proud of instead of a half-assed pile of garbage. So, playing to our strengths would be best."

Chloe pouted. She knew that he had a point, but she could feel her pride flaring up something fierce. Something about the way he was completely dictating the project just made her want to push back harder and harder no matter what he said; even when he had a valid point.

"Look," he started again. "I don't know what's up—'

"Hey!"

"—with you," He rolled his eyes. " _but_ I'm fine with us doing something else. I just wanted to give you my opinion of what we should do. If you want to do super heroes we can. Just let me know."

He shifted, pulled his phone out, and then began fiddling with it. Chloe felt her hand itch for her own phone. She knew that she still didn't have it, but she couldn't help the reflex. As soon as she caught the motion she forcibly moved her hand to doodle on her notebook once more. The motion wasn't nearly as mind-numbing as consuming content on her phone, but she made due in the lull of the conversation.

She watched as her hand idly drew lines and circles. She didn't really know what her hand was creating, but what else was she supposed to do? Force Nathanael into a conversation about her non-ideas?

She sighed.

Chloe had no idea what to do for their project. Her whole life was consumed by being a superhero now. All she could think about was how the recent akuma attack had gone. It'd been pretty run-of-the-mill, all things considered, but it felt as though she hadn't been needed. In fact, it felt almost like she should have just gone back to school. The only useful thing that she'd done was run interference when Ladybug had to go because her Miraculous started beeping.

Chloe paused.

Looking down she found a rough sketch of Ladybug's earrings. It wasn't very good, but maybe…

She flipped her planner around and slid it over to Nathanael, tapping her doodle.

It took him a few moments to look up. When he finally did he raised an eyebrow at her. "Dinner with Daddy," he read aloud. "What about it? Are you trying to passively aggressively tell me that you need to get home?"

Chloe rolled her eyes. "No. look next to it."

He picked up the planner and looked a bit closer. She watched as his face morphed from confusion to curiosity, to understanding in a quick succession.

"You want to draw their Miraculous?"

"Yes."

"Hmm." He turned her planner sideways and inspected the doodle more closely. "I think I can work with that idea. You'll just have to work on shading since it's a pretty simple idea."

He slid her planner back across the table.

"How about we meet in the art room after school sometime next week? We can figure out more of the details then." He glanced at his phone. "I should get going. If you have any more thoughts on the project we can talk about it before class tomorrow."

He didn't give her a chance to respond before he was gathering his things and walking away, phone held up to his ear as he addressed someone on the other end.

Chloe tried to listen in, but all she caught was: "Sorry to keep you waiting. I was working on…" before he was out of earshot.

"Do you really think it's a good idea to draw the miraculous?" Lyssa asked as she peeked out of Chloe's bag. Chloe immediately glanced around to see if anyone was watching. Thankfully, there were very few people in the library, and, those that were there, were too absorbed in what they were doing to pay attention.

"As long as I base it on pictures online, no one will ever know."

"Perhaps. But from what I could hear, Nathanael was pretty close to the truth today."

"Yes, well, he obviously thinks so little of Chloe that he'd never figure it out."

Lyssa frowned. "Maybe for now, but you'll be working with him quite a bit the next few months. If given the chance he could figure it out. I'd advise being a bit careful around him."

"It'll be fine."

"You don't know that for sure. Once one is aware that a truth exists, it's nearly impossible to avoid it."

"Save the little pearls of wisdom for later." Chloe stood up and shouldered her bag. "If I stay too long Daddy might ground me again."

"Alright, but please be careful with your identity."

"I will."

If Chloe was being honest, she _was_ worried about Nathanael figuring out her secret, but she was in a rush to get home, so she pushed it to the back of her mind.

She could stew on it later.

* * *

A/N: Hello! What's this? Another update within a month's time? What is this? 2017?

Jokes aside, I've got enough from Nano that I can post a bit more regularly. This means a new chapter every two weeks for about *checks* two months. I'm still hoping to keep ahead, but I've got some life changes coming up, an original manuscript to work on, and an infinite amount of apps that I need to get out ASAP so that I can have another life change.

Anyways, thanks so much for your guys' kind words. I'd have probably dropped this a while ago without your encouragement. As always, please let me know what you think and see you in about two weeks!


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 15

* * *

 _maybe i'll talk about it_

 _i can just talk about it,_

 _i'll never talk about it,_

 _no i cannot talk about it…_

* * *

Chloe was pretty sure Hawk Moth has it out for her.

She wasn't sure what he was doing, but he had attacked every day this week. Each time, of course, during school. With the exception of today.

Where he had decided to attack twice in one day .

"You've got to be kidding me!" Chloe ground out as she watched a large group of citizens run away in a panic. "What is Hawk Moth's problem? Can't he just give us a break?"

"Apparently not, Lyssa deadpanned.

"This is ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous!" Chloe stamped her foot. Her father had said that she was going to get her phone back to night. How was that supposed to happen if she wasn't at home?

Growling to herself under her breath, Chloe ran off to a side ally, shouted her phrase, and then flew off towards the action.

She was about a block away when she heard her purse buzz. Pushing the center piece, she allowed it to transform into her communicator and then looked at the screen. It displayed the word Ladybug below her teammate's symbol.

She answered it immediately.

"Hello?"

"We've got a situation," Ladybug said without missing a beat. "Meet me at the Eiffel Tower as soon as you can."

"Got it." Chloe opened her mouth to say more, but the line went dead before she could get anything else out. Harrumphing to herself, Chloe changed directions and flew off towards the meeting point.

It didn't take her too long, despite the minions running amuck in the streets. From what she could see, there were many citizens of Paris that had been turned into cartoonish convicts. Each one was terrorizing the non-transformed civilians with all sorts of criminal acts such as robbing stores and vandalizing the sides of buildings. Thankfully, it didn't appear as though they were committing any heinous crimes, but there was no telling what might happen if left unchecked for too long.

As Chloe approached the tower, she noticed her teammates were standing around noticeably restless. And, from the frown on Ladybug's face, it was obvious that something was wrong.

"The akuma has a hostage," Ladybug opened with the moment Chloe's feet touched down.

"Do we know who it is?"

"Yes." Chat Noir piped up. "It's the daughter of the chief of police. Her name is—"

"Sabrina," Chloe said numbly as her blood ran cold.

Objectively, she knew that it was only a matter of time before someone she cared about was put at risk. And, in all honesty, she really shouldn't care about her too much now that she'd be abandoned. But she couldn't help the panic welling inside at the thought of her being so close to the danger. It didn't matter how upset she was at her…

She didn't want Sabrina to get hurt.

"We don't know what he wants," Ladybug continued, pointedly ignoring how much more invested Chloe was in Sabrina's safety. "According to the news he's going around turning people into criminals. Right now—"

"Where did he—" Chloe cleared her throat to dispel the fervency of her voice. "Where did he take her?"

"A warehouse by the river. He has a large number of his minions surrounding him. We don't really know what's going on inside, but he can't rush in. If we do…"

"There's no telling what he'd do to Sabrina," Chat Noir continued.

"M-Makes sense. Do you have any ideas?"

"I say we scope it out from the roof. If we drop in from above they won't see us coming. Think you can carry both of us?"

"O-of course," Chloe said as off-handedly as she could. In all honesty she'd never tried it, but it couldn't be that bad right?"

* * *

Chloe sorely overestimated her stamina.

Sure, carrying both wasn't hard, but flying with them was a whole other ball game. A very slow one at that.

"You doing okay?" Chat Noir asked.

"Y… Yes. 'm fine."

"If you say so."

He clearly didn't believe her.

"We're almost there," Ladybug said encouragingly. "When we get close, you can let us go and we'll get down the rest of the way."

Chloe nodded.

It didn't take long before they arrived at the warehouse. There were a few minions around the perimeter. But, miraculously, none of them noticed their arrival. She let her grip on her teammates slack and they each slipped from her grasp, slowing their fall with their respective weapons.

Chloe hovered for a short while, arms still in their previous positions as if they were stuck there. Everything was so _sore._ All she wanted was to drop down and take a nap. But, she was supposed to act as their lookout as the other two scoped out the situation on the roof. So, instead, she attempted to focus on what she could see from her vantage point.

Attempt being the key word.

If she was being honest with herself, all she really wanted to do was to bust in and save Sabrina. And, once she was in a safe location, beat the akuma into a pulp. Then she could tell Sabrina everything, they would make up, and then they could be best friends like they used to be.

But she knew that she couldn't do any of that. There was no telling how much danger she really was in. What if running in recklessly got her hurt? And what if telling her the truth didn't do anything but put her in even more danger?

What if there was really no hope of them being friends ever again?

Her purse buzzed again. She went to open it up again, but Ladybug's frantic waving as she held her yo-yo in her hand caught Chloe's attention first. Getting the hint, she flew down and joined her teammates atop the roof.

"Did you see anything?" Ladybug asked.

"There are just a few guards around the outside. We could probably take them out, but there could be some hiding around."

"Could be worse," Chat Noir mused.

"I was able to sneak inside and it looks like there's just the akuma and Sabrina inside," Ladybug said from her crouched position on the roof of the warehouse.

"So, it'll be pretty easy then, right?" Chloe felt a bit of relief swell in her chest. If it was easy then that meant they could get Sabrina out of danger even faster.

"Not necessarily," Chat Noir said. "There could be some trap we don't know about. Or some lackies still hiding somewhere."

Chloe deflated.

"That being said," Ladybug continued. "Sneaking in and trying to subdue him is our best bet.

"Chat Noir, I want you to stay as inconspicuous as possible. I want the akuma to think we've all split up and that I'm on my own. Then, when I give the signal, you swoop in and—"

"Come to my lady's rescue? It would be my pleasure."

Ladybug rolled her eyes. "Yes. Thanks, Kitty." She turned to Chloe. "I want you to swoop in and get Sabrina to somewhere safe when you see an opening. That could be when I give the signal, or after, but just not before. Understand?"

"Yes. Do you want me to come back after I've found a safe place for her?"

Ladybug brought a hand to her chin. "Having the help would be nice, but who knows if this akuma has something up their sleeves. I think it'd be best if you stayed with her."

"Okay."

"Alright. I'll go in and I want you to give me a minute lead. I'll contact you, Queen Bee, with an update to the plan if things go south and we need help. Otherwise, stick with Sabrina until everything is over.

"Okay."

"Alright, I think that's it. Good luck out there."

"You too, Bugaboo."

Ladybug smiled at Chat Noir's endearment and then went to door that presumably led to the warehouse below and disappeared inside.

Chat Noir took up a position beside the door and started counting under his breath. Once he was at sixty, he and Chloe made to enter as well. But, as Chat Noir opened the door further he paused and as his scrunched up.

"Crap. Why now?"

"What's wrong?"

"I have an allergy to birds. There might be one trapped inside somewhere."

Chloe nodded in understanding. Adrien had an allergy similar to that. She knew how disrupted it could be. If he let out a large sneeze it'd surely give their position away.

He took a few deep breathes and when they didn't lead to a sneeze he let out a relieved sigh. "Hopefully it's gone now. Let's go."

They moved as silently as they could down the stairs just beyond the door. They went down a flight and found themselves near a utility room with a few darkened offices. Chat Noir keeping an eye on where Ladybug was on his baton, took the lead and led her towards the end of the hallway.

The eerie feeling of being in a place where there were usually people, but where there were no people, left Chloe feeling uncomfortable. Everything was lit up and it looked like there were supposed to people here, working, but instead there were abandoned cubicles and offices almost completely demolished.

Just what was this akuma?

They cautiously approached the door that was blown wide open. It was hard to see, but beyond the door was a small landing with a guardrail surrounding that continued down along a long staircase. Beyond that landing was the whole of the warehouse where boxes and crates were stacked high in orderly rows.

"Ladybug is down there to the right." Chat Noir pointed to a stack of blue cargo crates. Chloe couldn't see her teammate due to the low light, but she took his word for it. "Oh look, there's the akuma and Sabrina."

She followed Chat Noir's finger and found a man dressed in exaggerated prison garb standing in a cleared out space below. There were lights set up around him and there, tied up on the ground, was Sabrina.

Chloe felt her heart seize at the sight. She couldn't make out her ex-friend's face, but she had to be terrified. She should—

"Hold up." Chat Noir put out and hand and stopped her from taking any more steps further. When had she started moving? She knew the plan. So why had she moved without thinking? "If we rush down there we might ruin our element of surprise."

"I was just trying to get a better look…" She could tell that Chat Noir didn't buy her lie, but he didn't comment on it because, in that moment, voices from below caught his attention.

"… _really_ shouldn't have come here alone, Ladybug," the akuma boomed from below. He was turned to face Ladybug who had somehow moved all the way to the other side of the warehouse.

"Look, akuma, I don't want to—"

"I am called Criminal! And if you do not leave immediately I will show no mercy to this girl."

Chloe unwittingly moved again to move past the door jam. Chat Noir's hand stayed firmly planted on her arm. She pulled a bit on it, but found his grip unyielding. When he didn't let up she settled back on her heels and crossed her arms.

"We have to get down there."

"Yes, but we have to stay hidden. "If we rush in they might hurt Sabrina."

Chloe closed her eyes and let out a long breath. "I know. But if we stay here too long then we might be too far away to act when Ladybug gives the signal."

"Yes, but you're acting really impulsive right now. We're going to have to split up when we get down there. Can I trust you to stay calm enough that you won't blow our cover?"

"Yes," she hissed. Opening her eyes, she glared at him. She might be new, but she wasn't stupid.

"Good. When we get to the bottom you go left and get as close as you can. I'll go right and try to find a high place to drop in from. Please don't forget to wait for—"

"Yes, yes I'll wait for Ladybug's signal. Now can we _go?"_

He sighed heavily. "Yes. Wait a bit before you come down behind me, alright?"

"Alright."

Chat Noir hesitated a moment longer, but he eventually dropped his arm and creeped down the long staircase that hugged the wall of the warehouse. Chloe counted to ten and then followed behind, making sure that she stepped as lightly as she could.

Thankfully, there was plenty of cover once they reached the bottom of the stairs. Chat Noir didn't wait for her to reach the bottom before he scampered off into the midst of the rows of crates. He was out of sight by the time that she finally set foot on the concrete floor.

She considered flying up to the rafters above, but she doubted that it would provide her much cover. Besides, the movement alone might draw the akuma's attention early, despite continue to face the opposite direction. Instead, she chose to slowly inch her way closer and closer, down a row of crates. It would take her a while to get to where she could have eyes on Sabrina again, but from what she could tell, by the time that happened, she would be within arm's reach.

As she creeped closer and closer she focused her attention back on the conversation at hand.

"Criminal. Let's go at it. You and me. There's no reason to—"

"Her father must pay for his treatment of me! And, what better way than to attack him through the heart?"

Chloe moved faster towards the end of the row. Before she knew it she was at the end. She nearly tripped and fell into the clearing in her haste, but she caught herself in time.

And there, just out of arm's reach was Sabrina.

Everything inside of her screamed at her to rush over and scoop Sabrina up in her arms and run away as far as she could, feud be damned, but the large ball and chain that lie next to her gave her pause. Following the length of it she found that it attached to Criminal.

Even in her inexperience she could see why patience would be key. One flick of the wrist and her ex-friend might be pulverized by that large concrete ball. So, with great reluctance, she stayed put and kept watch as covertly as possible.

"Aren't you supposed to be going after the Miraculous?" Ladybug asked as she slowly drew closer to the akuma.

"Why would I care about some cheap jewelry? All I want is to make that man pay."

"What did he do to make you so angry?"

"He gave me a ticket for speeding. I'll have you know that I was not speeding. I was just… going with traffic. I let him know as such and he told me that if I didn't calm down that he'd take me in. Can you believe that? Going to jail for a stupid speeding ticket? I'm not like one of those… those… _criminals!_ And for him to insinuate—"

"I think you should go to _prison_ for what you've done." Chloe's heart stopped at the sound of Sabrina's voice. She rolled over and glared directly into the akuma's eyes directly. "Terrorizing all of Paris? Sure sounds like a criminal to me."

The akuma let out a growl. Their arm reared back and the ball whipped behind them. The chain grew taught as the ball whipped around a few times over their head.

"Watch your mouth! If you're not careful I'll—"

"Try it," Sabrina ground out.

The akuma smirked as a humorless laugh escaped their mouth.

"You asked for it."

The akuma whipped their arm forward and—

"Now!" Ladybug shouted as she intercepted the chain with her yo-yo.

In that same moment, Chloe dove for Sabrina, scooped her up in her arms, and took off. She looked back to make sure that the ball wasn't going to catch her off-guard just in time to watch Chat Noir bring his staff on top of Criminal's arm. This caused the akuma to lose their grip on the chain, thus allowing Ladybug to slam the ball into the ground in the opposite direction that Chloe was heading.

Turning around, She could hear the akuma roar as the din of battle started up, but she kept her focus on the door that she and Chat Noir had entered through. She needed to get Sabrina as far away from here as possible. There was no guarantee that there would be no minions on the roof by now…

But she could hope.

* * *

Unfortunately, her luck didn't hold out.

The moment that she set foot on the roof she was met with two of Criminal's lackeys.

"Hey," one of them said in a mobster accent, "Ain't that the girl that the boss wanted?"

"Yeah," the other answered. Cracking their knuckles the two started advancing on Chloe. "Why don't you be a doll and hand her over for us? Ain't no reason yous need to get hurt, too."

"Hang on," Chloe muttered. Sabrina did as instructed, threading Chloe's head through her bound arms, she squeezed as tight as she could. Chloe let her right arm drop from where it had been supporting Sabrina so that she could press the center of her purse. The hexagons rearranged themselves in a flash and then her boomerang was in her hand.

The first lackey tisked. "Looks like we gotta do this the hard way, then."

Chloe wound her arm back and then let her boomerang fly. It arced forward and hit the second mobster in the chest sending him flying. The first man reeled in shock and Chloe took that opportunity to rush forward and use his face as a launch pad. Wings unfurling, she took off and flew as high as they would take her.

She extended her arm, received her boomerang, and then replaced it by her side. Chloe then readjusted her grip to more carefully hold Sabrina in her arms. Sabrina's grip didn't relax any though, in fact she buried her face in the crook of Chloe's neck so fully that she could feel her glasses digging into her through her supersuit.

And she was definitely shaking.

"Hey," Chloe said. She wasn't all that good with the whole comforting thing, but she'd seen Ladybug and Chat Noir doing it a few times now. She could at least try… "It'll be okay."

Sabrina didn't say anything, but her death grip did lessen some.

Chloe surveyed the ground below. There were a lot of Criminal's minions on the streets of Paris now. She couldn't tell how they were turning each other, but the sheer number made her doubt that she would be able to find a safe place to take her ex-friend. Which was unfortunate, because her arms and wings were still very sore from carrying her teammates and she wasn't sure how long she was going to have to stay in the air.

"Can you take me back to the school?" Sabrina asked, face still firmly pressed into her neck. It was hard to make it out over the sound of the wind, but she was able to piece it together.

That might be too obvious as well, but maybe…

"Okay."

Chloe turned sharply in the direction of the school. Sabrina tightened her grip throughout the turn. Chloe was pretty sure that, if she wasn't suited up, Sabrina would probably be accidentally choking her right now.

"Sorry," Chloe said.

"It's… okay. I'm j-just, just not…"

"Used to flying?"

Sabrina laughed. "You could say that again."

"Well, don't worry. I'm a superhero now, so I promise I won't drop you."

Sabrina pulled her head away from Chloe's neck. "Now?"

Chloe grit her teeth as she realized her mistake. She'd have to say something pretty convincing…

"Y-yeah. I'm a new superhero. Don't tell the main reporter for the Ladyblog, but I wasn't exactly born with these powers."

"Oh… Right."

It didn't take long for them to arrive at the school after that. Thankfully, it seemed as though the fight at the warehouse had drawn a majority of the minions at that point. She only spied two near the school and they appeared to be bickering over a pile of stolen goods.

She decided to head for the third floor girl's bathroom. It was usually deserted, and with the school's policy, most of the students should have fled the vicinity anyways. She carefully navigated to the bathroom anyways, but, thankfully, her luck returned and there was not a soul in sight.

Chloe didn't put Sabrina down until he door shut behind them.

When she did, she tore at the binds around Sabrina's wrists and ankles. They came off easily, and once they disappeared in a puff of smoke, Sabrina immediately began to rub at her writs, presumably to restore circulation to them. Chloe, unconsciously, reached forward to help, but stopped short.

"Do you…"

"I've got it," Sabrina said, color finally returning to her cheeks. "Thanks, though. "

"No problem."

A silence fell between them and Chloe felt at a loss for what a superhero should say. She didn't want to be over-bearing, but she still couldn't dislodge her heart from where it had taken residence in her throat at the sight of her ex-friend being in danger.

And it didn't help that Sabrina was still technically in danger. She was pretty sure that she wouldn't be able to relax until Ladybug took care of the akuma.

"Are you.." she cleared her throat, words finally spilling around the worry in her chest. "Are you okay? Were you hurt?"

"I think I'm okay." Sabrina continued to work the phantoms of the restraints from her limbs. "And, surprisingly, no. Are you?"

Chloe blinked. "I'm fine."

"Good."

Another silence fell between them, and while it was less awkward, Chloe found herself restless. With nothing to do, nowhere to go, and everything to say… she started pacing.

There were tons of things that she wanted to ask, but Queen Bee didn't know about any of them. If she did suddenly ask about them, it might give away her identity. And, as Lyssa had pointed out, knowledge of her identity could put her loved ones in danger.

Chloe paused to look at Sabrina who was lost in her own thoughts as she absently rubbed at her sore wrists.

Yeah.

It was better to keep her mouth shut

* * *

All in all, they only spent about half an hour holed up in the bathroom. It felt like hours went by in that bathroom, but eventually Ladybug's magical ladybugs washed over both of them, signaling the defeat of yet another akuma.

"Thank god," Chloe said, some of the weight in her chest lifting.

"Yeah," Sabrina agreed. She stood up and tested her wrists and ankles.

"Good as new?"

"Yup!" Sabrina smiled. "Thank you for keeping me safe."

"You're welcome. Did you need a ride home?"

Sabrina blinked. "Don't you have to rush off before your transformation wears off?"

"I'm fine for now."

"Okay, then… yeah. That'd be nice."

Chloe walked forward, arms outstretched, ready to pick Sabrina up when her ex-friend began waving her arms around wildly.

"W-wait. I. I have to go get. My um. Things!" Color flushed her cheeks. "Wait. Wait here."

Sabrina didn't give her a chance to respond because, the next thing Chloe knew, the bathroom door was swinging shut.

Chloe blinked. What was that about?

Part of her wanted to demand answers the moment Sabrina walked back through the door, but she was pretty sure that wouldn't be very professional as a superhero. So, when Sabrina did eventually re-enter the bathroom, bag in tow, she let it go.

"Ready?"

"Y-yeah."

Chloe brought her arms out again and, this time, Sabrina merely stood there, eyes closed. "I won't drop you or anything."

"I know. I-it's just… high. Yeah. Being that high up is… scary."

Chloe paused. "Did you want me to walk you home, instead?"

"No!" Sabrina winced. "I just. I'll just keep my eyes closed."

Chloe took a moment and noticed just how… tense Sabrina looked at the prospect of flying again.

She didn't like that.

"Would it help if I flew lower?"

"Maybe." Sabrina opened one eye. "Wouldn't that be more inconvenient, though?"

"I can make it work."

Sabrina took a deep breath and then nodded. "Okay. I'm still keeping my eyes closed, though."

Chloe laughed. "Fine. I'll go slow, too."

"Thanks."

Chloe didn't stop in her approach this time. She picked Sabrina up bridal style and was unsurprised when she immediately buried her face in her neck and looped her arms tightly around her.

She made quick work of leaving the school grounds. As she took off, though, she was mindful of not shooting herself too high in the sky. She wasn't completely successful since she'd never given it much thought before, but she easily corrected herself.

"Do you need my address?" Sabrina asked after a few minutes.

Chloe cringed. She'd taken off in the direction of her house without a second thought. Sabrina didn't have to know that, though. "Yes, please."

Sabrina pulled away enough to look at their surroundings and gave her instructions. Chloe thanked her and nearly laughed at how quickly Sabrina ducked her head back down. She'd seen Sabrina all sorts of ways, but she seemed more… flustered than scared now and it was…

It was…

Chloe shook her head.

They weren't supposed to be anything right now. Just a superhero helping a civilian. And, when she was a civilian, they were now enemies at best. She couldn't let herself feel any… endearment to her ex-friend anymore. Even though she had hopes that someday they could be friends again…

It hurt too much think about.

It didn't take long for them to arrive at Sabrina's house. She wasn't entirely that far away from the school and Chloe put on a bit more speed after her reminder of the current state of their relationship. For a moment it'd felt like they were friends again, but the realization that it was just wishful thinking made her want to get as far away from her as possible.

And, if the way that she didn't let go for a while after they landed said any different, she was going to ignore it.

"I should… probably be going," Sabrina said after a while.

Chloe immediately set her down.

"Yeah, your dad is probably worried about you."

"Oh, right."

Sabrina didn't make a move towards the door.

"Can I ask you a question?" Sabrina asked. She was looking down and her voice was soft. And as much as Chloe wanted to go home, she couldn't find the energy to deny her this.

"Sure."

"What… what would you do if you had a secret that would put your loved ones in danger if anyone found out? Would you keep it? Even if you didn't want to?"

Chloe's eyebrows flew up. Her mind immediately went to her own secret identity. She had never wanted to keep it a secret. But, after today, she knew just how dangerous telling someone had the potential to be. If this was the norm for an akuma attack then there was no telling what Hawk Moth would do if he thought that it would draw out one of the Miraculous…

"I would keep it a secret. No matter what."

Sabrina nodded to herself. "Would there ever be a time you would tell it, though?"

"Only as a last resort."

Sabrina's face crumpled.

Chloe's breath caught. Why was Sabrina so upset all of a sudden? She opened her mouth to ask, but Sabrina turned on her heel and opened the door.

"I… I should be going. Th-thanks for saving me."

Sabrina didn't hesitate a moment longer. She rushed through the partially open door and slammed it shut. Chloe very nearly shot a hand forward to stop her and ask how what she had said upset her.

But she was too slow.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for the patience! I went to upload this last time and realized that what I was going to post was really meant for after all of this. I hope you like it! Please let me know what you think and I'll see you next time!


	17. Chapter 17

_know that means i'll have to leave…_

* * *

André held out far longer than Chloe had expected.

"I hope you realize that if something this terrible ever happens again that I will not let you off so easily," her father said as he slid Chloe's phone across his desk.

It was two weeks after The Gala Incident™ , as Chloe had deemed it, and, her father was returning her phone to her as promised. She'd thought, originally, that he would give in like he usually did, but, surprisingly, he held fast against her.

Which was something that she was definitely not used to.

"I'm going to be out of town for two weeks starting tonight. _Please_ behave yourself while I'm gone. If I find out that you misbehaved in my absence then I will be forced to deal out a worse punishment the next time around. Understand?"

Chloe nodded and snatched up the phone off of his desk. She casually checked for any imperfections that were left in her absence. "Thank you, Daddy. I'll be sure not to forget!"

André nodded, though he appeared to be just barely convinced by her tone. "Chloe…"

"I promise," She said with a bit more sincerity in her tone.

"Good." He sat back in his chair with a sigh. "Now, is there anything you'd like me to bring back from Tokyo?"

"Something pretty?" She asked after a moment of thought. She didn't particularly care what he brought back, but she was in a mood for something pretty and sparkly.

"Sounds good, sweetheart." He stood and came around the desk and hugged her tight. "You take care while I'm away, alright? I'll be in meetings most of the time I'm gone, but if you need anything just give me a call, alright?"

"Okay, Daddy," she said returning his embrace as best as she could from her chair. They stayed like that for a moment before he let go and went back to his seat.

She bid him adieu and then made her way to her bedroom. Once the door to her room was closed, she immediately threw herself across her bed as waited for her phone to boot up. She'd almost come to terms with not having a phone, but now that she had it back there was this innate need to look up everything that she had missed.

Her legs, dangling over the edge, started bouncing while she waited for the phone to finish connecting to the various networks that it needed to. Once it finally did, though, she started receiving too many notifications for her to process. It took nearly a minute for the phone to process everything and, when it finally calmed down, she passively dismissed all of the ones for her social media.

Her followers could wait a bit longer.

Instead, she focused on her private chats with people. There weren't nearly as many in comparison, but she still had a sizable amount. There were a lot from her classmates asking about what had happened with Sabrina. Chloe wrinkled her nose at a particularly nasty one from Alix and proceeded to ignore the rest in favor of focusing on her highest rated contacts. She opened the one for Adrien and found a few messages containing memes and jokes, one asking for her side of the whole situation, and a few more asking why she wasn't responding.

She responded immediately with an apology and an explanation of why she hadn't responded. She thought about trying to give him her side of the story, again, but decided to leave it alone for now. If he truly wanted her side, then he could ask her again when he was willing to listen.

She backed out of her conversation with Adrien and stared at her chat with Sabrina. Part of her was surprised that there were messages waiting for her, but she also dreaded what they might hold.

So much so that she procrastinated opening it. Instead, she opened her social media accounts and glanced over what she had missed. In all reality, it wasn't much. Most of it was Alya posting theories about Queen Bee and commentary on Hawk Moth's recent slew of akuma. Even she couldn't understand why there had been so many and then, after Sabrina's capture, radio silence again.

She didn't like the conclusions that Alya was coming to.

After making a few posts about her absence, only enough to say that she was back and that she was looking forward to making more content, she finally did muster up the confidence to go back to her conversation with Sabrina. Bracing herself, she sat up and hugged her stuffed ladybug to her chest.

She passively noticed Lyssa rest on her shoulder. The kwami had been oddly silent throughout her re-acquaintance with her phone. Chloe nearly shooed her away, but she was also privately appreciative of her support. So, instead, she angled the phone so that they could both see what was there to wait for her.

As the phone settled on the spot where she had last spoken with Sabrina, she couldn't help but notice just how many messages Sabrina had deleted. Her chest felt heavy as she added them up. Forty-two.

Just what had she missed?

The only messages left were sent Friday

 _Friday_

 **Sabrina**

 ** _I know I said last week that we might be able to be friends again someday._**

 ** _But that's going to be impossible now._**

 ** _I'm sorry. I wish it didn't have to be this way, but I don't have any other choice._**

 ** _Please stay away from me and never talk to me ever again outside of school._**

 ** _I hope that someday you'll be able to forgive me._**

 ** _But, if not, I hope you have a good life all the same._**

 ** _Goodbye, Chloe._**

Chloe stared at the messages for some time as she felt the last shred of hope that she'd held onto float away. Part of her expected tears to come, but all she felt was numb as she stared dumbly at her phone.

"Chloe..?" Lyssa carefully floated up to her. She could vaguely tell that she was right in front of her face, but even that felt distant. Chloe set the phone down. Lyssa closed the distance and gently patted her cheek. "I'm so sorry."

"May—" Her throat felt dry. She cleared it. "Maybe D-daddy will let me s-study abroad."

"Chloe, you can't just run away."

"Why not?"

"Paris—"

"Can survive without me," Chloe said quietly. "If I find someone to take my place, then it'd all be fine. I can leave and start new in some other city."

Lyssa tried to refute her, but Cloe continued on without paying her any mind.

"But who would be a good fit for this?" Chloe asked as she absently picked up her phone. She swiped through her contacts. She hesitated on Marinette, she was good enough for this, but a spiteful part of her refused to consider it for too long. Some of her classmates came to mind, but she dismissed them as well. Eventually she came to the bottom, scrolled back up, and then stopped on Adrien's name.

"He'd be a good superhero," She laughed humorlessly. "I'm sure he'd love it, too."

"Chloe." Lyssa flew down to her thumb which was hovering above the call button. "Paris doesn't just need a third superhero, it needs _you_."

"Well, too bad."

She pressed the call button.

* * *

As it turned out, Chloe couldn't even get two words out before she broke down.

"Chloe?" Adrien asked worriedly. "Is everything okay?"

"N-no!" She sobbed. "C-can you come over, please?"

"Of course. I'll be right there."

He then hung up.

She was still crying as she let her phone drop on her bed spread and pulled her knees up to her chest.

"Chloe, it's going to be okay, I know it's—"

"Go away, Lyssa," Chloe rasped out.

"But—"

"Now!" Chloe shouted back. She regretted it immediately upon seeing the look of utter turmoil in Lyssa's tiny face, but she couldn't blubber out an apology fast enough because one moment she was flying there and, the next, she had made herself scarce.

She was left in an uncomfortable silence for what felt like hours before Adrien finally arrived. He didn't knock, instead choosing to burst in looking wildly all around the room. When his eyes finally landed on her curled up form, he relaxed slightly. But his face immediately went from panic to concern.

"What's wrong?" he asked as he carefully approached her.

In lieu of a response, Chloe navigated to Sabrina's messages and pushed her phone into his hands. He took it easily, sat down beside her, and started reading. She refused to watch him read the messages, though. So, she buried her head in her knees and did her best to calm herself down.

Which was pretty pointless since nothing could calm her down now.

Eventually the silence in the room got to her. She was so used to Lyssa's incessant chattering and Adrien wasn't known for being all that quiet himself. So, to have him saying nothing, grated on her already frayed nerves.

Eventually she couldn't take it anymore and started rambling to fill the room.

"We... We were su-supposed to go to University together when we graduated. A-and be roommates! We-We-We were going to be—" She choked on her words.

"I'm sorry," Adrien said quietly before two arms wrapped themselves around her. "I really thought that this would be like all of your other fights before."

She burrowed herself into his chest and clung onto him as she let herself cry much harder than she had before.

Adrien didn't say anything else, just held her, as she cried herself out. She was grateful for that. It was why, when things were especially hard, she reached out to him. Not that she'd had need to for the past few years, but she could still remember all of the times that the world became too much for the two of them. How they'd always make a point to come to each other's aid as best as they could.

It was similar to how she thought her friendship with Sabrina had been, but there was something different about her friendship with Adrien. She couldn't quite put a finger on it, but it was definitely somewhere between friendship and family. If she had to give it a label, sibling-like was the closest that came to mind.

Once she had essentially cried herself out, Adrien finally spoke up.

"Do you want me to talk to her?"

"What's the point?" Chloe asked, forlornly.

"If she won't talk to me, then maybe I can find out from someone else what exactly is going on?"

"Don't bother." She sat up and wiped at her eyes, effectively smearing her make up into a mess on her face. "I'll just… move away."

Adrien frowned. " That won't solve anything. Besides who would help me pass the time at all those stuffy parties?"

"You could invite your new friends. I'm sure you'd have more fun with them than with me." She pulled out of his embrace and pushed off of her bed to stalk over to her vanity and started rearranging her makeup in an attempt to avoid looking at Adrien's face.

"Chloe. Just because I've made new friends doesn't mean—"

"You deserve better friends than me."

Another silence fell over them. She heard Adrien move off of her bed and half expected to hear the door open and close. But, surprisingly she felt him lay a hand on her shoulder, stilling her busy hands.

"I think I get to be the one to decide that."

"But—"

"No, Chloe." He leaned down to be on the same level as her. "I may not be proud of everything you've done since I started school, but you're still the reason that I'm there. I've gained so much since then, and for that I'll always be grateful." He squeezed her shoulder. "We should really hang out sometime."

"I'm not sure if the others would appreciate my company…"

"I'm sure they would if you stopped putting up that front of yours."

Chloe pouted.

"But, that's not what I meant. I mean we should hang out sometime just the two of us. I could force you to watch terrible anime and you could force me to wear nail polish like old times?"

She leaned into his touch. "I'd like that."

"Great. How about Saturday?"

She had patrol that night. "Um… how about Friday night?"

He considered it a moment. "I think my dad has something scheduled that night… but maybe I can convince him to let me out of it… I'll text you?"

"Okay."

Adrien's phone started buzzing incessantly. He groaned as he pulled it out and looked at the caller id. "I'm pretty sure the Gorilla is going to be so mad…"

Chloe blinked. "You didn't…"

He laughed sheepishly as he turned away to answer his phone. "Hello? …. Yes…. Sorry I had to take care of something…. Le Grand Paris Hotel… No, no, I'll meet you up front… Thank you so much."

He hung up.

"How mad is he?"

"Well, it was kind of hard to tell, but I'm guessing 'pretty' since he said that if this happens again he'll tell my dad next time."

Chloe winced. "Sorry."

"It's fine. I've disappeared for longer without him saying anything."

"Still…"

"My place or yours?"

Chloe spluttered and batted his hand away. "Phrasing, Adrikins! Phrasing!"

He chuckled. "I don't think there's any better way to phrase that question."

She pushed him off with a roll of her eyes. He easily dodged her second her hands as he let go of her shoulder. It took a lot for her to resist laughing with him, but he eventually got a small laugh out of her by booping her in the nose.

"There we go." He smiled sadly at her. "I should head down stairs, but text me if you need to okay?"

"Okay."

She watched as he walked away, but a thought crossed her mind, sending her to her feet to follow him.

"Hey, Adrien?"

"Yeah?" He looked at her confused.

"You know how I'd give anything to be Ladybug, right?"

He laughed. "I think everyone knows that."

"Have you ever thought about it?"

He froze slightly. "Thought about what?"

"Being a superhero?"

"Chloe… where is this coming from?"

"Sorry, it's just been bothering me lately. Especially after that new hero popped up."

"I guess…" He frowned. "I guess I haven't given it much thought. I don't know how I'd do it with my busy schedule and while I'm kind of athletic I can't imagine flinging myself across Paris that high up." He laughed.

She supposed that made sense, Adrien hadn't necessarily been the best with heights when they were younger…

"Why?"

She shook her head, dispelling all the thoughts she'd had of giving him the Bee Miraculous.

"Never mind. It just… came to mind." She spun him around and pushed him towards the door. "You really should get going. I wouldn't want to get you in trouble on my account."

"See you in class tomorrow. Goodnight, Chloe."

"Goodnight, Adrien."

She shut the door and leaned her head against it. She still felt terrible about losing Sabrina's friendship, but a part of her felt more settled knowing that she hadn't lost Adrien as well. And, surprisingly, she was glad that he gave her the easy reason for not trying to give her miraculous over to him.

Because, while she knew for a fact that he'd be a great hero, she still wanted to prove that she could, too.

"Lyssa?"

She pealed herself away from the door to look at the silent kwami before her. She didn't say a word, but instead reached forward and scooped her up in her hands and brought the small being to her chest, nestling her into the crook of her neck.

"I'm sorry," she whispered as she stood there holding the kwami close.

"Let's just get some sleep. You have class tomorrow, remember?"

"Oh. Right."

She strode over to her bed and laid down, Lyssa still held close almost like a stuffed animal. Chloe thought about asking if it was okay to keep her so close, but she felt the kwami shift and then settle just beneath her chin. Taking that as permission to continue to hold her close, Chloe settled herself into her bed, closed her eyes, and fell asleep.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading! Please let me know your thoughts! I love reading everyone's responses, and theories, to whats going on!


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

* * *

 _I heard the reverberating footsteps_

 _Synching up to the beating of my heart,_

 _And I was positive that unless I got myself together,_

 _I would watch me fall apart._

* * *

"You look terrible."

Chloe didn't even spare the speaker a glance

"Thanks. I worked hard on the 'depressed' look this morning. I'm sure it'll catch on later this season." She rolled her eyes.

After what had happened the night before she was absolutely exhausted. So exhausted in fact that she'd had to forgo a majority of her makeup in order to make it to school on time. Which, more than likely, was what Nathanael was commenting on. But, since she had no patience to spare, she did her best to ward him off before he became too nosy for his own good.

"Geeze," Nathanael said as he put his things on their shared table. "What's up with you?"

Or at least tried to.

"Doesn't matter." She started angrily swiping through her phone haphazardly in an attempt to look busy.

"Well, considering that today is our first in-class work day for our project… I'd say it matters quite a bit."

She slammed her phone onto the table and started to roughly rifle through her bag. She set her journal down just as hard as her phone, flipped it over to one of the sketches that she'd done on Tuesday when she'd still be grounded, and pushed it over to his side of the table, nearly knocking his belongings off in the process.

"Here," she said with one of her steeliest glares.

He spared the notebook a small glance, but then matched her look with one of his own.

"Look, you don't have to tell me what's going on, but the least you could do is be civil with me."

Chloe opened her mouth to retort with something, but at that moment Mrs. Rousseau clapped her hands to gain the classes attention. Throughout her explanation of what a 'work day' would mean, Chloe remained resolutely facing forward, arms crossed tightly across her chest.

She knew that, technically, her behavior wasn't all that great. But, for some reason beyond her understanding, he'd been overly… talkative since their little run-in at the thrift store over the weekend. He'd greeted her almost every day and even tried to make small talk with her.

Which, all things considered, was really odd and made her cautious. Because, in her experience, when people suddenly found an interest in Chloe outside of the activity that she was participating in, they were interested in one of three things: money, fame, or connections. She'd had some luck when she'd made friends with Sabrina and Adrien as neither had ever asked for any of those things, but she could feel her guard going up and up every day.

By the time that their teacher was done explaining everything, Chloe was so wound up more than she had been at the beginning of class. If she wasn't careful then one wrong word and it was likely that she'd snap.

And she didn't want to find out if it'd be in anger or sadness.

"You have a good start with these sketches," Nathanael said as he, thankfully, immediately got down to business. "With a bit of clean up I should be able to work with it. Do you have any ideas for what order we should put the miraculous in or which percentage you'd like to do for them? Or how you'd like to position them?"

Chloe knit her eyebrows together. "I hadn't really thought much past doing the miraculous…"

"It's okay. I'm a bit stuck on all that too." He frowned. "I tried sketching a bit myself, but I don't like how it looks."

He flipped open his own journal and slid it towards her. There was a sketch with all of the three heroes' miraculous with the heroes standing behind them, another with just the miraculous together in a jewelry box of sorts, and another with busts of the heroes clustered together, looking in three different directions.

She bit her lip as she looked between his much more detailed sketches — could they really be sketches with how well done they were?— and her own much simpler work. She knew that Nathanael was quiet artistically talented, but to see his work so up close to her own made her feel… inadequate.

A feeling that she absolutely despised.

"You should just do the whole project," sure said as she pulled out her phone like a security blanket.

"Chloe, the whole point of this project is two things coming together."

"Well, then you should do the drawing and I'll color it."

Nathanael sighed as he pulled his sketchbook back. "Chloe, your drawings are fine. Besides, seeing how you placed the earrings is way better than what I could do"

"Doubtful."

"Look. I get that you're intimidated by my sketches."

"No I'm not! I just—"

"Don't have as much practice as Nathanael does." Mrs. Rousseau said patiently. Both students started in surprise. "Sorry, I couldn't help overhearing and thought I should intervene.

"Chloe. I think you're being a little unfair. "

She immediately bristled.

"Now, now. Let me finish." Mrs. Rousseau brought her hands up placating. "Your attention to detail and drive for perfection is admirable, but I think you're being unfair to _yourself_ right now."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you're trying to hold yourself to a standard that you have yet to achieve. You wouldn't expect a toddler to run a marathon before they learned to run, would you?"

"No..."

"Then how can you expect yourself to be perfect at a skill that you're just starting to get the grasp of?"

Chloe huffed and refused to meet Mrs. Rousseau's eyes. She knew for a fact that the teacher was right in her own way. But, she was the mayor's daughter _and_ a superhero now. If she wasn't the perfect picture of both then what was she?  
"I don't expect you to admit as such, especially with so many of your peers eavesdropping in on our current conversation." The lull in conversations around the room immediately picked back up as the others in the room pretended that they hadn't been listening in the first place as their teacher gave everyone else a knowing look. "But please consider what I've said and give yourself a break.

"Nothing you create has to be perfect in order for it to be considered a work of art."

And, with that, Mrs. Rousseau moved on.

They didn't really get much more progress done on their project. Instead they each stewed over what their teacher had said and whatever else went through their minds. For Chloe that was the perpetual heartache as she caught glimpses of Sabrina laughing at something that Alya was saying. It hurt to see her doing so well while her heart was breaking over and over again, but there wasn't much she could do besides.

Eventually class ended and Chloe knew she should care about how little progress they had made, but she didn't really have the energy.

There was a tap on the table in front of her.

Looking up, Chloe found Nathanael standing there awkwardly.

"What do you want?" Chloe tried to pour as much bite into her tone, but she was pretty sure that it was more pathetic than intimidating.

"Meet me out front after classes get out today."

Her eyebrows knit together. "Why?"

"We got absolutely nothing done today and I, for one, don't want to do all of this last minute."

"Shouldn't we meet at the library then?"

"There's some activity going on today. Besides, my lunch sucked today so I want to get a snack at this café nearby."

"Fine. But don't expect me to pay for you."

"I don't know where you got that idea from." He scrunched his face up. "I'm more than capable paying for myself."

"Well from the looks of it I'd say—"

"If the two of you don't move onto your next class you're going to be late," Mrs. Rousseau interrupted.

Chloe exchanged a look with her partner before making a mad dash to the door.

* * *

As a general rule, Chloe did not, in fact, hang out with her classmates after school. She had to deal with each and every one of them for eight hours a day and therefore she didn't need to spend any extra time with them outside of a few exceptions.

So, it was much to her chagrin, that she found herself waiting for Nathanael outside of the school.

"This is dumb," she muttered under her breath.

"I think this will be good for you," Lyssa said with a small pat to her hand. "Nathanael seems like a nice boy and—"

"What?!" She shot a glare at her kwami.

Nonplussed, Lyssa shrugged. "It's just a statement. No reason to get defensive."

"You know how that sounded and I have no such feelings towards him. To imply as such is utterly ridiculous."

"If you say so…"

"Oh, hey." Chloe zipped her bag shut tight and hoped that she didn't look nearly as crazy as she felt. "I didn't think you'd actually stick around."

"Of course I did. If I fail a class Daddy will ground me again."

He rolled his eyes. "I'm sure that would be the absolute end of the world if he did." He kept walking and didn't look back to see if she was following him. "Now c'mon I want to get a good seat."

"W-wait up!"

It didn't take too much to catch up to her classmate, but his pace was absolutely brutal on her. Perhaps she really should start working out more as a civilian…

There wasn't any real reason to rush. The café wasn't too far away from the school and there wasn't any sort of rush happening in the small establishment either. But, Nathanael didn't slow down until he was in line at the counter. Once there he turned to Chloe.

"I'm getting a hot chocolate, do you want anything?"

"What, are you going to pay for me or something?"

He shrugged. "I thought I'd at least offer since you probably weren't expecting to go here when you left for school."

Chloe felt both a bolt of embarrassment at Lyssa's earlier insinuation and anger at the slight to her pride. How dare he think that she couldn't pay for herself!

"If I want anything, I'll pay for it myself," she said through her nose. Besides, if he paid then she would most certainly never hear the end of it from Lyssa and that would be a problem all its own.

"Suit yourself." The person in front of them stepped to the side and Nathanael ordered for himself.

As he made conversation with the male barista, Chloe opened her purse in order to retrieve her wallet. As soon as she unzipped it, Lyssa handed her the credit card that her father had given her with expressed permission that she could buy whatever she needed while he was away on business. She gave a small nod to her kwami in thanks, zipped the bag back up and then stepped up to the counter herself.

"I'll have a vanilla caramel latte with soy milk, two shots of espresso, and nothing else. No whip cream, no foam, no nothing. Understand?"

The barista, a boy around their age with partially spiked black hair in the back blinked in surprise. "I-I-I'm sorry. Can you say that one more time?"

"I'll have," she drawled out much slower than necessary. "A vanilla caramel latte with soy milk, two shots of espresso, and nothing else. Capiche?"

The barista quickly tapped in her order into the display. "A-and what size will that be?"

"The largest one that you have."

"A-A-Are you sure?" His eyes blew wide as he looked from her to Nathanael. "Our largest size is 32 ounces!"

"Yes I'm sure. That's why I said it." She crossed her arms.

"O-okay," he said "That. That'll be. Um, ten?"

Chloe slid her card through the reader without a second thought.

"Can I get a name?"

"Chloe."

"We'll call your—your name when we're done with it. With your drink."

Chloe barely stayed long enough to listen to the barista speak before she went off in search of a table, slipping her card in her purse as she went. She wasn't surprised when Nathanael didn't follow her. She could have stood and waited as well, but she didn't feel like making small talk with him or anyone else. Instead she put her head down on the table and allowed herself to zone out some.

She already regretted sticking around after school

"I get that you're upset or something, but you really don't have to take it out on Marc," Nathanael said as he sat across from her. Picking up her head she watched as he set her drink down beside her as well.

"Who's Marc?" She asked as she picked up her drink.

"The barista? Didn't you see his name tag?"

"I didn't bother looking."

"Ugh, you're hopeless." He took a drink of his hot chocolate before pulling out his sketchbook and a box of supplies. "Look, if we can get some actual work done, then you can go and do whatever."

"Fine." Not that she was in any particular rush to go home to an empty suite, but she still pulled out her own sketchbook. Turning to the page that they had been at earlier. "Where should we start."

"Let's decide what ratio we'd like for each of the miraculous then we can decide on other pieces of it."

"Okay." Chloe wasn't sure if he expected more of a fight from her, but she let him ride out his surprise before speaking again. "What."

"Nothing." He shook his head. "Do you have any preference on how much of each one you want to draw/shade?"

"No."

"… Ok. Do you have a preference on how much color each one has?"

"No."

He let out a very loud sigh.

"Chloe…"

She let out an annoyed sound of her own. "You asked if I had a preference and I _don't._ I don't _care,_ Nathanael." Her voice started rising. "Look. Just tell me what to do and I'll _do it_. What part that don't you _understand?!_ "

All she could hear was ringing in her ears and echoes of her own voice bouncing off the walls of the small café. There was probably a silence as well as they dissipated, but she couldn't hear it over the sound of her own ragged breathing and the sound of a closing door and footsteps—

"Chloe?"

Her head whipped up to find Nathanael looking at her with something akin to concern in his face. Was it sincere? She couldn't tell from how blurry he looked, though. And, if she was being honest, she didn't care to find out.

"I-I need to go home." She clutched her purse, grabbed her bag, and stood abruptly. She needed out. Now.

For a moment it looked as though Nathanael was going to insist that she stay and work on their project. But, then, what fight that had gathered in him escaped him in one short sigh. He gathered his own things, both of their drinks, and stood beside her.

"Alright. I'll walk you home."

Chloe blinked in surprise.

"I'm perfectly capable of—"

"I'm going that way anyways." It was probably a lie, but she didn't have a whole lot of energy to refuse him. "C'mon."

They made their way out, stopping only for Nathanael to wave at the barista and bid him adieu. As soon as they exited onto the busy street, an awkward silence fell between them. There was probably something that she was supposed to say right now, thank you, sorry, who really knew. But instead she bit her lip and trailed behind her classmate turned project partner.

There was a bit of a walk from the café to her father's hotel, and she couldn't say that it didn't help some. The boiling emotions that had threatened to spill out of her in the café had cooled significantly. Everything still sucked a lot, but between the air and the exercise it helped clear her head some.

The constant company wasn't terrible either.

She knew that they really should start on this project. There was no telling what Hawk Moth would do between now and the deadline. And, without Sabrina as a safety net, she wouldn't be able to put it off too long. That, and she was pretty sure that their teacher wouldn't fail her if she didn't do her part.

And Chloe didn't like failing.

It wasn't too much longer that they came to a stop in front of the Le Grand Paris Hotel. The torrent of people parted around them, continuing forward like a river that had come upon a rock. Neither moved to go their separate ways.

"Look—"

"I want to do all of Queen Bee's Miraculous."

Nathanael blinked in surprise.

"I don't care which one you want to do more of or which one should be half and half, I just really want to have hers all sketchy. I…" She looked away. "I think it'd make sense since she's still starting out."

He hummed. "Y'know that makes a lot of sense. If that's the case then it'd probably make sense to do have Ladybug and Chat Noirs be the seventy-five percent ones and Hawk Moth's be half and half. It'd probably keep the set balanced."

She nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

They lapsed into silence.

"Y'know..." He trailed off. She looked back up at him. He was looking at her and she expected to find condescension or worse, but all she could find was open honesty. "I think you should get out more."

"I get out."

"No not…" He made a frustrated noise. "I mean I think you should join a club or something. I don't know what's going on exactly between you and Sabrina, at least without you or her talking to me, but you can't just have one best friend and everyone else be your supposed enemy. It's not… It's not a good place to be."

He gripped the strap of his bag a bit harder.

"I know we aren't close or anything, but I just thought I'd give you a bit of friendly advice since this whole break up between you and Sabrina is obviously messing with you pretty badly.

"We weren't…" She swallowed around a lump in her throat. "We weren't dating."

Nathanael looked at her in surprise. "Well, if you're close enough to someone I'm pretty sure it hurts just as much." He cleared his throat. "Anyways. Just think about it?

"Okay."

He nodded. There was no telling how seriously she was going to take his advice, but it was enough to placate him. "Alright. I'll see you on Monday. Take care."

And, with that, he turned and made his way back towards his own home.

* * *

A/N: So I struggled a bit with the ending of this chapter because Chloe wanted nothing more than to run away and not look back... but it just didn't seem like that's what was actually going to happen. I hope that this came out alright and that you enjoyed it. Thanks so much for being patient and for reading. Please let me know what you think!


End file.
